Key Highlights:

  • AB PM-JAY completed 8 years, with over 48.51 crore Ayushman cardholders and 13.25 crore hospital admissions funded, worth Rs 2.03 lakh crore.
  • The scheme covers about 33% of India's population through a network of over 38,000 empanelled hospitals.
  • Over 44.81 lakh Ayushman cards have been created for ASHAs, anganwadi workers and helpers since the March 2024 expansion.
  • All senior citizens aged 70 and above were included from September 2024, with over 1.36 crore Ayushman Vay Vandana cards issued.
  • Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs recorded over 50 crore teleconsultations and a cumulative footfall of over 540 crore as of September 17, 2026.

A Major Milestone for India's Health Insurance Scheme

India's government health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan-Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), completed eight years, with more than 48.51 crore people holding Ayushman cards, and has funded 13.25 crore hospital admissions worth Rs 2.03 lakh crore, an official factsheet said on Tuesday.

Scale of Coverage

The scheme covers about 33 per cent of India's population and spans a network of over 38,000 empanelled public and private hospitals, giving it one of the widest healthcare coverage footprints of any government scheme in the country.

The Scheme's Core Objective

AB PM-JAY, a public health assurance scheme, aims to save families from catastrophic medical bills. It provides cashless healthcare services for 1,961 procedures across 27 medical specialties, offering coverage across a broad range of medical conditions and treatment types.

Extending Coverage to Frontline Health Workers

In March 2024, the government had also expanded the scheme to include about 37 lakh families of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), anganwadi workers and anganwadi helpers. Currently, over 44.81 lakh Ayushman cards have been created for ASHAs, AWWs and AWHs under the scheme, extending health coverage benefits directly to the frontline workers who themselves deliver public health services at the community level.

Part of a Broader Health Infrastructure Push

AB-PMJAY is one scheme under Ayushman Bharat that is promoting universal health coverage. The other schemes that are building India's public health infrastructure are Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs (AAM), Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM). These four flagship schemes are strengthening India's public health infrastructure to deliver universal health coverage, the statement noted, positioning AB PM-JAY as one component within a larger, interconnected framework of health-sector reforms.

Extending Coverage to Senior Citizens

The government expanded the scheme in September 2024 to include all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, covering about 6 crore senior citizens. Over 1.36 crore senior citizens currently hold an Ayushman Vay Vandana card, a dedicated card introduced specifically for this expanded elderly beneficiary group.

How Beneficiaries Are Identified

Beneficiary families are identified based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, using defined deprivation and occupational criteria. The scheme also includes families previously covered under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), ensuring continuity of coverage for households that were part of an earlier government health insurance programme.

Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs and Primary Healthcare Access

Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs (AAM), the second pillar of Ayushman Bharat, make primary healthcare more accessible to people, extending the broader Ayushman Bharat mission beyond hospital-based insurance coverage into community-level primary care access.

Scale of Teleconsultations and Footfall

More than 50 crore teleconsultations were conducted, including at the AAMs, as of September 17, 2026, and these mandirs recorded a cumulative footfall of over 540 crore as on date, figures that reflect the substantial and sustained level of public engagement with this network of primary healthcare centres since their establishment, complementing the hospital admission-focused insurance coverage that AB PM-JAY itself provides.