Parliament Question: Effectiveness of AB-PMJAY in reducing out-of-pocket health expenditure

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH ANDFAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2846 TOBE ANSWERED ON17TH MARCH, 2026 EFFECTIVENESS OFAB-PMJAYIN REDUCING OUT-OF-POCKETHEALTH EXPENDITURE 2846. SHRIKAPILSIBAL: Will the Minister of HEALTHAND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleased tostate: (a) the trends in out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare by beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat PradhanMantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) inthe last two years; (b) the number of hospitals empanelled and claims settled in rural vs, urban areas as of January 2026; and (c)anyplanstoaddress gapsincoverage for chronic illnesses? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATEIN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAOJADHAV) (a) to (c): Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) provides health coverage of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to 12 crore families constituting bottom 40% of India's population. In March 2024, approximately 37 lakh families of Accredited Social Health Activists, Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers were included under the scheme. The scheme was further expanded to cover 6 crore senior citizens of age 70 years and above belonging to 4.5 crore familiesirrespective of theirsocio-economic status. As on 28.02.2026, a total of 43.52 crore Ayushman Cards have been created, including 1.14 crore cards created under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category for senior citizens aged 70 yearsandabove. As on 28.02.2026, a total of 36,229 hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme across the country, of which 19,483 are public and16,746are private hospitals.As on 28.02.2026, a total of 11.69 crore hospital admissions amounting toRs. 1.73lakhcrore have been authorized under the scheme. Out of these, 4.40 crore hospital admissions amounting to Rs. 68,302.23 crore were authorized during the last two years (FY 2023-24 to FY2024-25). The significant utilization of the scheme indicates that eligible beneficiariesare able toaccesshealthcare services andtherebyreduce theirout-of-pocket expenditure. Since the launch of the scheme, the Health Benefit Packages have been revised five times. Initially, the scheme included 1391 packages, but the latest Health Benefit Package 2022, now comprises 1,961 packages across 27 specialties. This includes packages for chronic illnesses like Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease andothernon-communicable diseases. *****