Delhi widens Ayushman Bharat net, adds 5.5 lakh vulnerable households

Delhi has expanded the coverage of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), bringing an estimated 5.5 lakh additional families under the publicly funded health insurance umbrella. The move targets widows, persons with disabilities and other pension beneficiaries, signalling a policy push to extend financial protection to residents most exposed to catastrophic medical expenses.

Officials said the inclusion aims to plug gaps in urban health coverage where vulnerable populations often fall outside formal insurance systems. Benefitting households will now be eligible for cashless treatment for secondary and tertiary care across empanelled hospitals, a provision expected to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure and improve access to institutional care.

The expansion also reflects Delhi’s broader effort to align welfare databases with health entitlements, using pension and social assistance records to identify eligible beneficiaries. Public health experts note that while enrolment expansion strengthens risk pooling and financial security, effective implementation will depend on hospital capacity, awareness campaigns, and grievance redress mechanisms to ensure the intended beneficiaries can actually access care.