Union Budget 2024-25 Gives 10% Hike to Ayushman Bharat Funding

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's overall budget for 2024-25 has been increased by 12.9%, reaching INR 90,958 Cr.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 on July 23, highlighting a significant 10% increase for the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) to INR 7,300 Cr from INR 6,800 Cr in the revised estimates for 2023-24.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's overall budget for 2024-25 has been increased by 12.9%, reaching INR 90,958 Cr, compared to INR 80,517.62 Cr in the revised estimates for 2023-24. This includes allocations for two key departments:

- The Department of Health and Family Welfare received INR 87,656 Cr, up 12.92% from INR 77,625 Cr the previous year.

- The Department of Health Research was allocated INR 3,302 Cr, a 14% increase from INR 2,893 Cr the previous year.

Launched in September 2018 as part of the National Health Policy 2017, Ayushman Bharat is one of the largest health assurance schemes globally. It currently caters to 550 million individuals or roughly 120 million families.

Many Indian states have independently expanded the number of recipients, bearing the costs themselves. As of December 20, 2023, around 28.45 Cr Ayushman Bharat cards have been issued, with 9.38 Cr generated in 2023 alone. The coverage provided is INR 5 Lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

Recent Budget Allocations

In the Interim Budget presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in February this year before the elections, she allocated INR 7,500 Cr for Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY.

This was versus the INR 6,881 Cr allocated as per the Revised Estimates for FY24 and INR 7,200 Cr as per the Budgetary Estimates for FY24. The Interim Budget announced the extension of health coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to ASHA and Anganwadi workers and helpers.

Before the FM tabled the Budget on July 23, reports suggested that the government was considering several expansions to the AB-PMJAY, including aiming to double the number of beneficiaries to a billion over the next three years.

There were also reports that the government is considering increasing coverage for seniors, potentially covering all individuals aged 70 years and over, with annual insurance coverage increasing to INR 10 Lakh from INR 5 Lakh.

This expansion would have cost the treasury an additional INR 12,000 Cr per year. Furthermore, the government was planning to cover severe ailments like cancer and transplants under PM-JAY.