Venkata NP Vemuri

Recently, the Union government announced that senior citizens aged 70 and above, hailing from families already covered under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), will be eligible for an additional top-up cover of ₹5 lakh per year. It makes medicare affordable for and specific to the old and infirm. The logic is the same as the one behind the original scheme — to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure of patients by increasing access to quality and timely healthcare.