Govt may widen scope of PM-JAY in budget

Non-poor segments may be included in health insurance scheme

- Priyanka Sharma

The world's biggest health insurance scheme is set to get even bigger, with the Union budget likely to expand the coverage of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to the non-poor segments of society, often called the missing middle.

The National Health Authority (NHA) has proposed to the government to extend the scheme's benefits to sections of society who lack any health insurance, two people aware of the development said.

Launched in September 2018 to provide free health cover of up to 15 lakh to around 107.4 million poor and vulnerable families, Ayushman Bharat, which is being implemented along with state health schemes, now covers over 140 million families comprising approximately 720 million individuals, protecting 60% of the population.

An additional 250 million, or approximately 10%, have some form of private health insurance, leaving about 400 million, or 30% of the population, out of the ambit of any health scheme, according to a NITI Aayog report published in October 2021.