If you are 70 years or above, then this is good news for you… Yes, the central government has launched a huge scheme, the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Card. It aims to provide cashless hospital facilities to senior citizens above 70 years of age.
This scheme was launched by the Central Government on October 29, 2024. Under this scheme, every senior citizen gets free cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. It covers the health expenses completely free of cost without paying any premium.
Senior citizens can get medical treatment through this scheme without any financial problem. If you have not yet made an Ayushman Vaya Vandana card, then you do not need to worry, because you can easily apply online. By making this card, you can get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.
Under Ayushman Bharat, senior citizens of a family get insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh for the rest of the family. But under Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana, only senior citizens get insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh. Through this, the government is providing financial assistance to provide more treatment to the elderly in India.
What is Ayushman Vaya Vandana Card?
This scheme is a part of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). This scheme has been launched for people above 70 years of age. Through this card, free treatment facilities are available in government and some selected private hospitals. Each family gets health insurance up to Rs. 5 lakh every year.
What are the benefits of this scheme?
- Under the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana, you can avail cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per year.
- This scheme covers more than 2,000 treatments and surgeries. Services like dialysis, cancer, heart disease, ICU services, orthopedics, etc. are available and you can avail its benefits.
- All the facilities required for your treatment start from the first day itself. You don’t have to wait for long.
- If you have an Ayushman Vaya Vandana card, you can get treatment free of cost in government or private hospitals.
- More than 30,000 hospitals across the country have this insurance service.
- There is no caste, religion or income limit to avail the Ayushman Vaya Vandana card service. Everyone above the age of 70 years gets this service.
How to apply for Ayushman Vaya Vandana Card?
You can submit the application through the official website beneficiary.nha.gov.in or Ayushman Bharat.
After visiting the website, enter the mobile number linked to Aadhaar and login using OTP.
Click on the option “Registration of Senior Citizens above 70 years of age”.
Complete e-KYC using Aadhaar number, OTP or biometric.
Fill in your photograph and other required information like state, district, caste etc. Submit the form and download the digital card in PDF format within 15-20 minutes.
Call Helpline
If you have any problem in applying, you can call the government helpline. The helpline number is 14555 or 1800-11-0770 (these numbers work 24×7)
How many people have applied so far?
According to government data, the total number of applications received under this scheme till 25 May 2025 is around 66 lakh. Approved applications are 65 lakh and pending applications are more than 96 thousand.
So far, very few people have received cards under this scheme. Among the states, the highest number of applications have come from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Kerala.
How to know the list of hospitals?
The details of how to know in which hospitals the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana is being provided are explained below.
To know in which hospital you have the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Yojana facility, visit the official website https://hospitals.pmjay.gov.in. Through this, you can get information about your nearest panel hospital. There, if you search for the state, district or pin code, you will get information about which government and private hospitals are included in the scheme.