As on date, over 1.06 lakh claims have been settled under Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme since its launch, the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav stated in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. He further said the settlement of claims is an ongoing process.
The Centre expanded the scope of the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to include all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status on October 29, 2024 Under this initiative, beneficiaries will receive free treatment benefits of up to ₹5 lakh per year through Ayushman Vay Vandana cards.
In addition, the portability feature of AB-PMJAY allows eligible beneficiaries—including those under the Vay Vandana scheme—to access healthcare services at any of the 31,466 empanelled hospitals across the country, regardless of their place of residence thus ensuring seamless and equitable access to quality healthcare for the elderly population nationwide.
Vay Vandana scheme beneficiaries can also avail treatment through a vast network of 14,194 private healthcare providers empanelled under the scheme. To ensure quality and consistency in service delivery, the National Health Authority (NHA) has issued comprehensive Hospital Empanelment and Management (HEM) Guidelines for the empanelment of hospitals under AB-PMJAY.
The claims are settled by the respective State Health Agencies (SHA) and NHS guidelines stipulate that payment of claim to hospital should be made within 15 days of submission for intra-state hospitals and within 30 days in case of hospitals outside the state.
