BENGALURU: A 72-year-old man from Bengaluru, diagnosed with gastric cancer, reportedly died by suicide on December 25 after being denied benefits under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) for his treatment.
The victim, a retired state government employee, passed away just 15 days after his cancer diagnosis, according to reports. He had been enrolled in the AB PM-JAY senior citizen scheme, which provides ₹5 lakh in annual coverage for treatment. However, when he sought treatment at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO), the hospital refused to honor the scheme, citing a lack of state government orders for its implementation.
A family member shared with The Times of India that despite having the senior citizen card that promised ₹5 lakh coverage, the hospital denied the benefit, offering only a 50% discount instead. “They told us that the state government orders had not yet arrived. However, they did offer us a 50% discount,” the family member said.
Dr. Ravi Arjunan, the director in charge at KMIO, confirmed that the senior citizen scheme had not yet been rolled out and the necessary orders were still pending. The Karnataka government has acknowledged that the scheme has not been fully implemented and is awaiting clarification on its funding aspects.
The AB PM-JAY senior citizen scheme is designed to provide ₹5 lakh in free insurance coverage for individuals aged 70 and above. For the patient, just the initial scans cost ₹20,000, and further chemotherapy sessions were needed. “We had planned to begin chemotherapy at Kidwai, and we were ready to pay for it. But then, in just two days, we lost him to suicide. While I can’t say his death was directly due to the denial of benefits, he knew it wouldn’t come through and was already under significant stress,” the family member added.
This case comes amid other reports of difficulties faced by beneficiaries under the scheme. Lalithamba BV, the head of campaigns for Bengaluru’s Navanirmana Party and co-founder of Hasiru Mitra, shared her experience of using the card for her 87-year-old father. Despite receiving the card in early November 2024, the family was unable to use it when her father was admitted to a private hospital on December 13. “When we tried to process the card, we were told by the Ayushman Bharat helpline that there were no instructions from the government to use it,” she recalled.
The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department has admitted that there are issues with the AB PM-JAY senior citizen health assurance scheme, particularly concerning its implementation and access to benefits.
