Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has recently announced a new health scheme named “Sanjeevani Yojana”. The scheme promises to provide free healthcare services to all senior citizens of Delhi above 60 years of age. Under this scheme, the elderly will be treated without any cost in all government and private hospitals of Delhi.
This announcement has been made before the Delhi Assembly elections to be held in February 2025. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kejriwal said the scheme is one of his party’s election promises and will be implemented if AAP comes to power again. In this article we will know in detail about Sanjeevani Yojana, its benefits, eligibility criteria and how it will be implemented.
What is Sanjeevani Yojana? (What is Sanjeevani Yojana?)
Sanjeevani Yojana is a new health insurance scheme proposed by the Delhi government that will provide free health services to all Delhi residents above 60 years of age. Following are the main features of this scheme:
Description | Information |
name of the scheme | Sanjeevani Yojana |
target beneficiaries | Delhi residents above 60 years of age |
Benefit | free health services |
hospital coverage | Both government and private hospitals |
income limit | no income limit |
extent of treatment | no upper limit |
eligibility certificate | Voter ID card of Delhi |
effective date | After formation of AAP government |
Key Benefits of Sanjeevani Yojana
Sanjeevani Yojana will provide several important benefits to senior citizens of Delhi:
- Free treatment: Under the scheme, all Delhi residents above 60 years of age will get treatment without any cost.
- Comprehensive coverage: Treatment facilities will be available in both government and private hospitals.
- No Income Limit: There is no income limit to join this scheme. Rich or poor, all senior citizens can avail its benefits.
- Unlimited Coverage: There will be no upper limit on the amount of treatment. Whatever the cost, the government will bear it.
- Simple registration process: AAP workers will go door-to-door to register and issue a card.
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for Sanjeevani Yojana are very simple:
- Age: 60 years or older
- Residence: Must be a permanent resident of Delhi
- Identity Proof: Voter ID Card of Delhi
It is worth noting that there is no income limit or socio-economic criteria to join this scheme. All senior citizens, irrespective of their economic background, can avail the benefits of this scheme.
Implementation of the Scheme
Sanjeevani Yojana will be implemented in the following manner:
- Registration Process: AAP workers will go door-to-door to register eligible senior citizens.
- Card Distribution: After registration, a special Sanjeevani card will be given to each beneficiary.
- Launch of the scheme: The scheme will be formally implemented after the formation of AAP government.
- Hospital Network: Both government and private hospitals will be empaneled to provide services under this scheme.
- Cashless Treatment: Beneficiaries will be able to avail cashless treatment at any empaneled hospital using their Sanjeevani card.
Sanjeevani Yojana vs Ayushman Bharat
Sanjeevani scheme is different from the central government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme in many ways:
- Age Limit: Sanjeevani Yojana is for people above 60 years of age, whereas Ayushman Bharat has no such age limit.
- Coverage Limit: There is no upper limit on treatment in Sanjeevani Yojana, whereas Ayushman Bharat provides a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family.
- Target Group: Sanjeevani Yojana is for all senior citizens, while Ayushman Bharat mainly focuses on the poor and deprived sections.
- Geographical limitation: Sanjeevani scheme is only for residents of Delhi, while Ayushman Bharat is a national scheme.
Impact and Importance of the Scheme
Sanjeevani Yojana can have a profound impact on the lives of senior citizens of Delhi:
- Financial Security: This scheme will free the elderly from health-related expenses, which often eat away their savings.
- Better health care: With the facility of free treatment, the elderly will be able to take better care of their health.
- Improvement in quality of life: Freedom from health concerns will improve the quality of life of the elderly.
- Less burden on families: This scheme will reduce the financial burden on families.
- Social Security: It is an important social security measure that ensures care of senior citizens.
Potential Challenges of the scheme
Although Sanjeevani Yojana is an ambitious initiative, there may be some challenges in its implementation:
- Financial burden: Providing free treatment without any limit can be a huge financial burden for the government.
- Collaboration of hospitals: It may be a challenge to include all the private hospitals in this scheme.
- Potential for misuse: A strong monitoring mechanism will be required to prevent misuse of the scheme.
- Quality control: Ensuring high quality health services for large numbers of beneficiaries can be challenging.
- Logistics: Logistics like registration, card distribution and claims settlement have to be managed effectively.
Conclusion
Sanjeevani Yojana is an important health protection initiative for senior citizens of Delhi. This scheme will not only provide financial security to the elderly but will also improve their overall quality of life. Although there may be some challenges in its implementation, but if implemented successfully, it could prove to be a game-changer for senior citizens of Delhi.
This scheme will not only be beneficial at the individual level, but also reflects our responsibility towards the society. It reminds us how important taking care of senior citizens is in building a healthy society.
Disclaimer
It is very important to note that Sanjeevani Yojana is still only a proposed scheme. It has not been formally implemented. The scheme has been presented by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a poll promise for the Delhi Assembly elections 2025. The actual implementation of this scheme will depend on the election results and decisions of the future government. Readers are requested to take this information for informational purposes only and confirm with official sources before taking any decisions.