The Union Cabinet has decided to provide health insurance to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, no matter how much money they earn, under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). This means that seniors in this age group will get free health coverage of Rs 5 lakh. This move is expected to help 6 crore senior citizens from 4.5 crore families.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained that senior citizens in families already covered by this scheme will also get this extra benefit. A new card will be given to eligible people so they can use this insurance.

For seniors who are already part of other government health programs like the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), they can choose to stay with their current plan or switch to this new scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government wants to make sure everyone can get good and affordable healthcare, especially seniors. The scheme has already helped many families with hospital bills and aims to provide security and care to more people.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is the largest health scheme in the world, offering Rs 5 lakh per family every year for hospital treatments. So far, it has covered over 7 crore hospital admissions, benefiting more than Rs 1 lakh crore worth of healthcare.