New Delhi, Dec 9: About 25 lakh senior citizens aged 70 and above have enrolled for the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card, in a span of less than 2 months of its launch, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Monday.

It is part of the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), which was expanded by the Union government on October 29. It aims to provide free treatment benefits of up to 5 lakh per year on a family basis to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

“Treatments worth more than Rs 40 crore have been availed since the launch of the Ayushman Vay Vandana card benefitting more than 22,000 senior citizens aged 70 years and above,” the Ministry said.

“Senior citizens have taken treatment for various conditions such as coronary angioplasty, hip fracture/replacement, gall bladder removal, cataract surgery, prostate resection, stroke, hemodialysis, enteric fever, and other febrile illness etc,” it added.

The card offers treatment for around 2,000 medical procedures across 27 medical specialties including general medicine, and general surgery. It covers all pre-existing diseases, including problems related to bones, heart, and cancer, from the first day without any waiting period. About 4.5 crore families and 6 crore individuals aged 70 years and above will be benefitted from the scheme.

The estimated expenditure for the scheme is Rs 3,437 crore. Of this, Rs 2,165 crore in the central share expenditure is likely to be incurred during the Financial Year 2024-25 and 2025-26, the Ministry said. A total of 29,870 hospitals are empanelled under the scheme out of which 13,173 are private hospitals.

Senior citizens aged 70 or above who are eligible for the Ayushman Vay Vandana Card can register through multiple channels. They can visit the nearest empanelled hospital for registration. Citizens can also self-register by downloading the Ayushman app.

--IANS

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