The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is the world's largest health insurance scheme fully financed by the government. It provides a health cover of ₹5,00,000 per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empaneled hospitals.
New Update for 2026: ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and helpers are now fully covered under the PM-JAY scheme completely free of cost.
Benefits of the Golden Card
- Cashless Treatment: Access paperless and cashless healthcare in any empaneled hospital anywhere in India.
- ₹5 Lakh Coverage: Covers up to ₹5 lakh per family per year, with no restriction on family size, age, or gender.
- Pre and post-hospitalization care including medicines and diagnostics are covered.
- Coverage extends to critical illnesses like cancer, heart surgery, and severe accidents.
Eligibility under PMJAY
The scheme targets the bottom 40% of poor and vulnerable families based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, and now includes several other specific occupational groups such as:
- Families heavily dependent on manual, casual labor.
- Destitute people, beggars, and landless laborers.
- ASHA and Anganwadi workers (added recently).
How to Check Eligibility & Apply for the Golden Card
There is no physical enrollment process. Beneficiaries are identified based on the SECC listing.
- Visit the official PMJAY portal: mera.pmjay.gov.in
- Enter your mobile number and the OTP received.
- Select your state and search your name by HHD number, ration card, mobile number, or name.
- If your name appears, your family is eligible.
- Visit your nearest empaneled hospital or Common Service Centre (CSC) with your Aadhar Card or Ration Card to do your respective KYC and instantly download your **Ayushman Golden Card**.