PM-JAY Delivers INR 90,204 Cr in Free Hospital Care to 68M+ Beneficiaries

PM-JAY offers cashless treatment for nearly 2,000 procedures, covering treatment, medicines, diagnostics, physician fees, and hospital charges.

Since its inception in September 2018, the Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) has provided free hospitalization benefits worth INR 90,204 Cr to beneficiaries across India, according to the latest official data.

The scheme, which offers an annual health cover of INR 5,00,000, has so far benefited more than 68.62 million people.

Targeted at the bottom 40% of the population, PM-JAY has been made available to 107 million poor households, providing critical financial protection in healthcare.

One of PM-JAY's most significant achievements has been its role in reducing out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures, which previously pushed millions of Indians into poverty each year.

Before the scheme's launch, an estimated 62% of healthcare costs were borne directly by individuals, leading to severe financial distress for many families.

Top Beneficiary States & Treatments

The scheme has seen widespread adoption, with states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat leading in the number of beneficiaries.

Under PM-JAY, nearly 2,000 procedures are available for cashless treatment, covering costs related to treatment, medicines, diagnostics, physician fees, and hospital charges.

The most commonly availed treatments include general medicine, infectious diseases, general surgery, medical oncology, ophthalmology, and orthopedics, with procedures such as hemodialysis, COVID-19 screening, and acute febrile illness treatment being particularly prevalent.

To facilitate access to the scheme, more than 353.4 million Ayushman Cards have been issued to beneficiaries.

Additionally, 30,357 public and private hospitals are currently empaneled under the PM-JAY scheme, ensuring widespread availability of services.

Extending the Scheme to the 'Missing Middle'

Recognizing the importance of financial protection in healthcare, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recently recommended extending PM-JAY to the "missing middle" population on a paid basis.

According to a NITI Aayog report from October 2021, approximately 30% of the population—around 400 million individuals—lack any financial protection for health.

Expanding PM-JAY could offer critical support to this vulnerable group, ensuring broader access to essential healthcare services.

In a related development, just a few days back, the National Health Authority (NHA) reached a new level in its healthcare digitization mission by generating 4 Cr tokens for outpatient department (OPD) registrations through the ABHA-based Scan and Share service.