Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme : The Delhi government launched an innovative health programme in the capital aimed at senior citizens. Formally launched last week after months of planning and infrastructure development, the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme aims to tackle the specific healthcare needs of Delhi’s elderly with a three-fold package that offers financial protection, specialized medical treatment and home-based care.
The scheme is a major step towards improving access to healthcare for about 1.2 million elderly in the national capital which hosts scores of world class medical facilities though many of its elderly have difficulties in accessing quality healthcare. With its multitiered benefits, and focus on dignity in the aging process, the scheme is intended to be a model for elder care across urban India.
Salient Features of Ayushman Vay Vandana Scheme
The revolutionary new program brings several innovative pieces to the elder care space, addressing immediate healthcare needs but also longer-term elder wellness:
Insurance for All: (As a flagship part of the scheme) Will stand on the pillar of insurance cover costing a maximum of ₹5 lakhs per elderly person for both hospitalization and medical care, with no payment even on premium for families whose income is less than ₹3 lakhs.
Those in the more affluent end of the scale will be able to receive the same rights for the payment of an initial annual token premium, the amount of which decreases with the income scale.
Specialized Geriatric OPD Network: The program sets up specialized geriatric outpatient departments in 32 Delhi government hospitals with specialist care provided by doctors who have a degree in elder care medicine.
Priority is given to scheme attendees by these spaces which also are in operation in the mornings (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) when only senior citizens are allowed in together to control crowds and waiting times.
Pharmacy Delivery System: An innovative feature that allows prescription medicine to be delivered to the patients’ doorstep within 48 hours of consultation with the doctor.
Even prevented-services are provided through a network of empanelled pharmacies throughout all the districts, which will benefit a large population of elderly who have severe mobility problems.
Home Based Care entitlements – For the elderly who are not able to move around and those with chronic illnesses that need to be monitored every now and again, the scheme will pay up to 12 visits a year by health worker in the patient’s residence to give basic health checks, help with their medicine etc and consult the primary physician as necessary.
Preventative Health Screen: Each member/person will be entitled for annual full health comprehensive screening, annually on 15 key health indicators such as cardiac profile, diabetes screening, vision & hearing, bone mass density scans etc. – Essential services for combating age related health issues.
Ramesh Kumar, 72, who lives in Lajpat Nagar and used the services during the pilot, is a retired government employee and says, “Last month I had to get some diagnostic tests, which which would have cost me ₹8890.
In the plan I was covered under, I paid nil, and more importantly, there was a separate line for senior citizen, so it did not take as much time as it used to earlier. The respect and dignity of the process are as important as the financial help.”
Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme Eligibility & Registration
The plan uses relatively simple eligibility rules, ones that target aid while maximizing the number of people getting coverage:
Eligibility Requirement: Proposer should be Delhi resident from the age of 60 years, less documentation for those without common age proof. A simplified enrollment process with few required documents has also been implemented for elderly beneficiaries over 80 years old.
Residential Criteria: Candidates should show they are a resident of Delhi for at least three years by submitting voter ID, Aadhaar with Delhi address, ration card, or utility bills. For senior citizens without such paperwork, an easier verification process through local RWAs has been set in place.
Income Factors: Although the plan is open to all income levels for elderly members, the premiums are set on something of a tiered system:
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Annual family income below ₹3 lakhs: Premium-free:UIButtonTypeCustom
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Annual income: ₹3-7 lakhsAnnual premium: ₹1,500
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Over and above ₹7 lakhs: Premium is ₹3,000 for one year.
Documentation Required:
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Evidence of age (Aadhaar/voter ID/passport/birth certificate)
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Delhi residence proof
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Proof of income (self-declaration or certificate i.e. for premium)
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Latest passport size photo
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Mobile no for service alerts
The registration process provides various avenues to cater for different levels of technological comfort:
Digitized Enrollment: The special portal (vayvandana. delhi. gov.in) has online application and documents uploading, developed with elderly-friendly features such as large fonts and easy navigation.
Assisted Centre: For candidates who find using digital services cumbersome, 110 assisted enrolment centres have been opened in all assembly constituencies, which are normally set up at Government dispensaries and some selected primary schools to be near them.
Mobile Registration Vans: Thirty MOT-enabled vans that will be deployed in communities based on published schedule, providing senior-friendly registration services directly to neighborhoods with high concentrations of seniors.
Door-to-Door assistance: A dedicated help-line (011–2322-XXXX) for completely home-bound senior citizens also operates! Even computer-internet-shy senior citizens may enroll through this method, provided this request is made at least 1 week in advance!
Sunita Devi, a social worker who has been working with seniors in Jahangirpuri to assist them through the enrollment process, says, “A lot of people in this area are either without a smartphone or not very tech savvy.
The assisted centers have been really key for that — I’ve taken a dozen seniors with me so far, and I feel welcome and they clearly have the time for me when I arrive. The vast majority of them completed their registration in under 30 minutes.”
Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme Intervention Approach and Hospital Network
The empirical underpinnings of the scheme have been carefully crafted to improve access to care as follows:
Empanelment with Hospitals: List of empanelled Hospitals in the network is:
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All 38 Delhi government hospitals
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23 central government hospitals in Delhi
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97 private hospitals that have agreed terms on the plan
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215 diagnostic facilities for investigative procedures
Administrative machinery Ayushman Vay Vandana Authority under Delhi Health Department comprising of medical, administrative and elder advocates has been set to oversee implementation of the scheme. This institution monitors performance, quality of service and grievances processing.
“Digital Backbone”: A single digital platform all service providers are connected to, with real-time eligibility verification, paperless claims settlement, and treatment history tracking across the network. It is available to beneficiaries either through a simplified mobile app or at assisted service centres.
Quality control system: Independent quality assessment panel will check participating hospitals and diagnostic centers on regular basis and also take feedback from patients after availing the service, to maintain the service standards.
At a Delhi government hospital, one of the big hospitals that started implementing the scheme when it was being piloted, Medical Superintendent Dr Meena Sharma describes some of the changes: “We’ve had to reorganise some of our departments to make room for the dedicated geriatric services and train staff to provide elder-sensitive healthcare.
The process of creating discrete pharmacy counters and schedules for seniors involved some changes to infrastructure, but the benefits have been substantial—elderly patients say they feel more respected and are less heaent homeot going to the hospital.“ rn about doitrstrip to theDeserialize.
Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme Geriatric Specialty Services
One of the key characteristics of the scheme is its focus on geriatric-targeted health than mere coverage of generic medical facilities:
Dedicated Geriatric Units: Besides routine OPD services, specialized units focusing on common geriatric problems have been set up such as:
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Memory and Cognitive health clinics
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Fall preventions and moving help
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Chronic pain management
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Management of polypharmacy (multiple medication problems)
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Nutritional guidance for the elderly specifically
Mental health Care: Understanding that mental health often takes a back seat in age-related care, the plan adds coverage for psychological counseling/behavioral health services, depression screenings, and coverage for conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Physiotherapy Services: Seniors who are enrolled with the Vayoshreshtha scheme are given a maximum 15 physiotherapy sessions annually either at empanelled centres or through house visits for mobility-restricted senior citizens for prevalent age-related musculoskeletal problems.
Community Elder Activity Centers: A preventive measure, the scheme is setting up 45 such activity centers across Delhi with emphasis on elder wellness activities (general fitness, yoga, etc) socialization and basic health health check-ups being undertaken — treating the social determinants of health among the elderly rather than just medical interventions.
Prakash Yadav, a geriatric expert who helped design the program’s clinical protocols, talks about this holistic approach: “Conventional health insurance generally revolves around hospitalisation, whereas the health needs of the elderly are different.
It’s about managing long-term conditions as well as general healthy living, and quality of life stuff like mobility and connecting with other people. It’s a plan that aims to cover the whole spectrum of healthcare for the elderly.
Budgetary Provision and Financial Sustainability
The Delhi government is already estimated to invest Rs 565 crores during the first year of the scheme and to review the investment where necessary and based on usage trends and outcome indicators.
Funding Structure:
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₹320 crores disbursed for insurance cover and claims
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₹105 crore for medical infrastructure at hospitals and enrollment centers
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₹75 Crires for the drug delivery system
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other ₹65 crores for home care services and for preventative screenings
Public-Private Partnership: There is large private sector involvement in the implementation model, and there are contractually agreed reduce service rates with private hospitals and diagnostic centers enabling the scheme to reach out of the government.
Costing: The programme’s financial sustainability is guided by mechanisms that limit costs through use of standardized treatment protocols along with rate cards negotiated for basic services and promoting preventive care to curb expensive emergency treatment.
Financial planning professionals say that it’s a large undertaking, but an overall manageable one. “The design of the scheme reflects the lessons from previous health programmes, and builds in cost controls from the start,” says Vikram Mehta, a public health finance analyst.
Such a focus on prevention and early treatment would actually decrease total health care costs in the long run by preventing costly emergency care and hospital stays.”
With enrollment and coverage playing out in scale across the capital, the Ayushman Vay Vandana scheme is a major step in finding solutions to the special healthcare challenges of urban elderly—also serving as a model for urban India cities with a similar shift in demographics towards a graying future.
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