Tamil Nadu Announces Free Health Insurance Scheme for 38 Lakh Elderly Residents

CHENNAI — The Tamil Nadu government will launch the Chief Minister’s Elderly Health Insurance Scheme to provide free, cashless medical treatment to nearly 38 lakh residents aged 70 and above across the state.

Health Minister KG Arunraj announced the initiative in the legislative assembly on Monday, highlighting that there will be no income ceiling for eligibility under the scheme as the state addresses the needs of a growing senior citizen population.

Under the new scheme, eligible elderly beneficiaries will receive advanced medical care for chronic illnesses, advanced cardiac care procedures, and organ transplant surgeries free of cost at both government and empanelled private hospitals.

While the health minister did not detail the full extent of the coverage limits during the assembly session, senior officials confirmed that the initiative will be dovetailed with the central government's Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

The programme will also align with the existing Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, which currently provides Rs 5 lakh coverage per family annually to approximately 1.45 crore families in Tamil Nadu.

Additionally, officials stated that a special corpus will fund high-end medical procedures, including organ transplants and cochlear implants, with financial coverage reaching up to Rs 23 lakh.