48.5 Crore Cards, 39,000 Hospitals: How PM-JAY Disbursed ₹2 Lakh Cr in 8 Years

25 Sep 2026, 05:28 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

New Delhi: India’s flagship publicly funded health protection initiative, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), recently completed eight years of nationwide operations, crossing Rs 2 lakh crore in total hospital care delivered to low-income and vulnerable households.

Official data released alongside the eight-year milestone shows the insurance program currently covers more than 60 crore individuals across the country. Over the eight-year span, clinical treatments and hospital admissions under the program have exceeded 13 crore cases, supported by a network of more than 39,000 empanelled medical facilities spanning both the public and private sectors. As of August 31, 2026, the specific tally stood at 13.25 crore admissions financed at a cumulative valuation of Rs 2.03 lakh crore across more than 38,000 facilities.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda announced on Wednesday that authorities have generated over 48.54 crore individual Ayushman cards to date. Reflecting on the scale of delivery, Nadda noted that the policy framework has turned financial protection into a measurable safety net, shielding working families from debt traps caused by sudden health crises and enabling patients to secure specialized treatment without out-of-pocket impoverishment.

The program, originally introduced on September 23, 2018, provides cashless hospitalization coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary clinical procedures. The scheme’s medical package covers 1,961 procedures divided among 27 medical specialties.

Marking the anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned that decentralized primary care has expanded in tandem with inpatient insurance. Primary-level Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have now logged over 500 crore patient visits, extending routine diagnostics, preventive consultation, and fundamental treatments closer to residential communities. Modi emphasized that the twin approach—pairing routine neighborhood clinic access with substantial catastrophic coverage—has generated significant household savings for low-income and middle-class citizens across states.

Eligibility for AB PM-JAY initially drew from defined occupational and socio-economic deprivation parameters, but recent program revisions have widened its scope. Coverage now extends to community health cadres, including Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Anganwadi workers, and Anganwadi helpers, who account for more than 44.81 lakh cards issued. Furthermore, universal protections for the elderly have been integrated, with over 1.36 crore senior citizens aged 70 and above enrolled under dedicated Ayushman Vay Vandana cards through September 21, 2026.

Targeted categories brought into the safety net include:

Construction laborers
Sanitation staff and waste pickers
Transgender persons enrolled via the SMILE program
Road crash victims requiring immediate clinical intervention
Members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

Operationally, the financing mechanism under AB PM-JAY anchors a wider four-pillar public health architecture. The central government coordinates the insurance scheme alongside the Ayushman Arogya Mandir network, digital record systems under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), and hospital infrastructure expansion funded through the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).