In a strategic move preceding the Lok Sabha election, the Indian government has set an ambitious target to extend the coverage of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to an additional 270 million individuals by January 26. The directive, challenging in its scale, has been issued to central ministries and agencies overseeing various welfare schemes to achieve the “saturation” of beneficiaries.
Presently, more than 280 million individuals hold Ayushman cards, granting them access to quality healthcare services—a benefit aimed at those below the poverty line. The government’s vision is to encompass a total of 550 million individuals, necessitating significant efforts in just over a month.
Government officials, emphasizing the opportunity to achieve saturation rather than a pre-election agenda, reveal that daily communication is being dispatched to states and union territories, urging them to establish daily targets for Ayushman card creation and strive to meet these goals.
According to official reports, over 100 million families already possess at least one Ayushman card. Uttar Pradesh leads the states with 46 million cardholders, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra.
The exponential rise in Ayushman cardholders has resulted in a notable surge in hospitalization rates, currently touching 3.16% per 100,000 beneficiaries for this fiscal year—higher than the national average of 2.9% reported by the National Statistical Office.
Queries directed to the health ministry and a BJP spokesperson remained unanswered as of press time.
This year, the government has allocated nearly ₹4,200 crore to implement the scheme. To further scale up, one potential avenue being explored is addressing the “missing middle,” individuals just above the poverty line who do not qualify for benefits yet struggle to afford private healthcare.
As the Ayushman Bharat initiative gains momentum, its expansion is poised to be a significant narrative in the upcoming elections, with possibilities of incorporating the “missing middle” into the PM-JAY framework.
