Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY has benefited 600 million people in eight years, with 485 million Ayushman Cards issued, health ministry data showed.

Published on: Sep 23, 2026, 22:32:20 IST

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The Union government’s flagship health insurance scheme, which turned eight on Wednesday has benefited at least 600 million people since launch, according to data from the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

Prime minister Narendra Modi also posted a message on social media commemorating eight years of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY), which was launched in 2018.

“Eight years ago, Ayushman Bharat was rolled out with the idea that every Indian should have access to top-quality and affordable health care. Today, more than 60 crore (600 million) beneficiaries have access to Rs. 5 lakh annual health cover, making it the largest health care scheme in the world,” he said on X.

The health ministry’s statement described Ayushman Bharat as “ the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme.”

The ministry’s data showed that almost 485 million people have Ayushman Cards and around 130 million people have availed treatment worth ₹2 lakh crore for free.

In a separate post on X, Union health minister, JP Nadda, said that the significance of thee scheme went beyond statistics, pointing to families protected from the burden of medical expenses and patients receiving timely treatment without the fear of financial hardship.

“Behind every number is a story – a family protected from the burden of medical debt, a patient receiving timely treatment, a loved one relieved of pain, and a household able to face illness without the fear of financial hardship. Hearing directly from beneficiaries and witnessing their experiences is a powerful reminder of the impact of this historic journey of Seva,” Nadda wrote in the post.

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY provides health cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to eligible beneficiaries.

“From expanding healthcare access to reducing financial barriers to treatment, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY stands as a landmark of India’s commitment to ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare for all,” said the health ministry.

The National Health Authority (NHA), which is the nodal authority responsible for implementation of the scheme, is working on Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY) 2.0 that focuses on scalability and deeper digital integration, according to an earlier health ministry statement.

AB-PMJAY 2.0 is about strengthening digital public infrastructure, enhancing service delivery, and fostering inter-state collaboration to ensure equitable access to healthcare, that statement added. NHA has sought actionable ideas from states and Union territories for the next chapter of the scheme.

The scheme was launched in September 2018 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, as recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, to achieve the vision of universal health coverage.

PM-JAY is fully funded by the government and cost of implementation is shared between the central and state governments. It covers up to three days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days post-hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines, with no restriction on the family size, age or gender.

All pre-existing conditions are covered from day one. Benefits— cashless treatment— of the scheme are portable across the country in any empanelled public or private hospitals in India. Services include approximately 1,929 procedures covering all the costs related to treatment, including drugs, supplies, diagnostic services, physician’s fees, room charges, surgeon charges, operation theatre and intensive care unit charges.

Nearly 38,000 public and private hospitals are empanelled across the country under the scheme.

However, a section of health care providers says getting dues cleared under the scheme can be a task— at times stretching well beyond the mandated 30 days.

“Initial years were good but later, as scope of the scheme increased, funding issues started cropping up. The money usually isn’t reimbursed in the mandated 15 to 30 day period; and may take up to three to four months also. The scheme needs a review in terms of over lay, package rates, and expanding target population. At the moment, it isn’t very lucrative for the private sector hospitals. The policy makers need to start serious dialogues with the serving hospitals,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, member, Association of Healthcare Providers of India (Chhattisgarh chapter).

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