The BJP manifesto for the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which includes among other things a promise to bring senior citizens aged 70 and above within the ambit of the government’s flagship healthcare program for the vulnerable sections of society, is a welcome step. It addresses one of the prime concerns of the ageing population unable to wangle health cover substantially, but it could have been more liberal in its coverage.
Ayushman Bharat is supposed to provide health cover for some 50 crore people or 10 crore families to the extent of free hospital treatment up to Rs 5 lac per annum. There has been some muted criticism of the coverage including the inclusion of tailors of all hues, little realising that even among tailors there may be many who are quite well off, given the fact that Ayushmaan Bharat isn’t a freewheeling but a targeted subsidy.
The omission of senior citizens is all the more troubling in a country where they are often looked down upon with disdain by health insurers as belonging to the high-risk category. Even if they are offered health coverage, it’s usually at an unconscionable premium vis-à-vis the quantum of the cover. Consequently, many relatively well-heeled senior citizens have resigned themselves to self-insurance. They forego health insurance and instead build a health war chest, which they can tap into during medical emergencies and for routine geriatric treatments like teeth implants, knee replacements, cataract surgeries, etc. that invariably plague the senior citizens during the autumn of their lives and are often in severe disfavour with health insurers.
The BJP has done well, albeit belatedly, to address their concerns, though grudgingly. Why the 70-year requirement when one gets the honorific ‘senior’ right at the age of 60, which normally coincides with the hanging up of one’s employment boots? To be sure, longevity in India has been going up steadily and according to the 2021 census, it was around 67 years at the time of death for an average Indian. But then longevity cannot be left to providence. Geriatric diseases start afflicting seniors much earlier than 70. So, the government hopefully would be a little more liberal and offer Ayushmaan cover to those who have reached 65 years of age. The BJP manifesto must be hailed though, for breaking a new ground. Mercifully, it has not promised Ayushmaan cover for ‘very senior citizens’, the entry point for which is 80 years as per the Income Tax law. Be that as it may.
One hopes the new initiative is wholehearted and doesn’t give short shrift to typical geriatric ailments like dental and eye problems. Furthermore, many senior citizens suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes, warranting swallowing of pills every day to control these life-threatening conditions which are often condescendingly described as lifestyle diseases. As it is, Indian health insurance is hospitalisation fixated. There is no reason why the senior citizens’ cover in the offing should not pick up chemist bills so long as they are supported and certified by government doctors, say annually. The government trusts hospitals more than it trusts the ubiquitous chemists on the facile ground that it is easier to wangle a fictitious chemist bill than a fictitious hospital bill. Be that as it may.
As it is, all that is done for senior citizens’ health is a heightened deduction under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, applicable to both senior citizens and youngsters who pay health insurance premiums for their elderly parents. But that hasn’t even addressed the fringe of the problem. Extending Ayushmaan Bharat coverage to senior citizens is the first meaningful initiative of any political party. Hope the BJP walks the talk should it be voted back to power on June 4.
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