The Standing Committee of the Indian Parliament on Health and Family Welfare has recommended increasing the insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) from INR 500,000 to INR 1,000,000 per family per year.
Launched in 2018, the scheme is administered and funded by the Federal Government of India and provides cashless secondary and tertiary healthcare services to eligible families through a nationwide network of dedicated public and private hospitals.
The Standing Committee proposal, which is part of the committee’s 172nd report, said the increase is needed because of rising health care costs and growing concerns that current coverage is no longer sufficient for many life-saving treatments.
According to the Committee, the cost of treating serious diseases such as complex heart surgery, organ transplantation, cancer immunotherapy and other specialized secondary and tertiary procedures has increased significantly in recent years. It said the current limit of INR 500,000 is often insufficient for complex procedures.
Health care costs when treatment affects these specialized areas can easily exceed the current insurance limit, forcing many families to spend large amounts out of pocket despite being covered by the program.
Healthcare costs are steadily rising due to advances in medical technology, new treatments, lengthy hospital stays and the growing burden of chronic diseases, according to industry sources.
According to available official data, more than 435.2 million individual Ayushman cards have been issued under the scheme till June 2026. The scheme targets more than 550 million people over 70 across the country.
The committee said that increasing the insurance coverage to INR 1,000,000 will provide better financial protection and reduce catastrophic healthcare costs. Committee members also felt the proposal would particularly benefit economically vulnerable households who often delay or avoid treatment due to financial constraints.