Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India Television.
Dhanteras is the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the god of health, and people pray for good health for the whole family. On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched health projects worth Rs 12,00,850 crore. Apart from this, senior citizens of the country above 70 years of age are also included in the Ayushman Bharat scheme. In this way, they will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.
Targeting the Delhi and West Bengal governments, Modi said the central government had brought this scheme to the people of the country, but the Delhi and Bengal governments had not joined the scheme due to political interests. The elders there will be hurt by this. Modi said the Delhi and Bangladesh governments were doing this only for political gain. He felt very sad about this. The Ayushmann scheme launched for senior citizens has been a boon for them. I have always been blessed by these elders.
I would like to take some time to explain this plan to the 70+ decades old.
The first question is, will everyone over the age of 70 benefit from this program, or will those with higher incomes not benefit? The answer is that every senior citizen above 70 years of age, regardless of income, will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. No matter what your income is, it won’t make any difference.
The second question is, will every elderly person in the family get treatment worth Rs 5 lakh? So the answer is this program is for families. Both grandparents will be insured and share the cover of Rs 5 lakh per annum.
Now the third question, what if there is already an Ayushman beneficiary in the family? Even if there are already Ayushmann beneficiaries in the family, senior citizens above 70 years of age will get separate benefits. They must update their KYC. Senior citizen benefit of Rs 5 lakh will be provided only to them. Not allowed to be shared by minors.
The fourth question that elders will ask now is, what happens if someone buys health insurance from a private company? The answer is that senior citizens will be able to avail the benefits of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana despite having health insurance. But if you have ever been a government employee. If you have a CGHS card which covers all medical expenses, then you have to choose CGHS or Ayushman plan. You don’t get the benefits of both. Senior citizens above 70 years of age will have to make a separate card to avail the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme and the process will start from October 29.
I want to commend Narendra Modi, who started this scheme for the senior citizens of the country and made it very easy by not linking it to income. They will definitely get blessings from their elders. (Rajat Sharma)
Watch: ‘Aaj Ki Baat, Rajat Sharma Sath’ full episode, October 29, 2024
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