Central government's Rs 5 lakh support for those above 70; Kerala yet to implement scheme

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, launched by the Central Government to ensure free medical treatment for people above 70 years of age, has not yet been implemented in Kerala. The state government argues that the scheme requires special funding from the central government.

Introduced in 2018, the scheme offers free medical treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh per year to low-income families, with 60% of the funding provided by the Centre and the remaining 40% by the State.

In Kerala, the programme operates as the Ayushman Bharat–Karunya Suraksha Padhathi (AB-KASP), under which every member of a poor family is eligible for treatment coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh. However, under a new component introduced last year, individuals aged 70 and above are entitled to an additional Rs 5 lakh coverage without any conditions. Beneficiaries would receive a special ‘Ayushman Bharat Vandana’ card in addition to the regular Ayushman Bharat card, and no income limit applies for eligibility. This new extension, however, has not been rolled out in Kerala.

Ayushman Bharat cards are issued through Akshaya Centres in the state. The government has directed that Vandana cards should also be distributed through these centres. Nonetheless, people can register and obtain the Vandana card through Common Service Centres (CSCs) managed by the central government or by logging in to beneficiary.nha.gov.in. Despite this, the treatment benefits under the new plan remain unavailable in Kerala.

According to the state government, the Centre has not yet provided clear guidelines, no agreement has been reached between the two governments on implementation, and the state is unable to allocate its share of the funding.

Population above 70 years of age in Kerala:

Men: 11.52 lakh

Women: 14.42 lakh