New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Amit Mandali, a resident of Patdi tehsil of Surendranagar district of Gujarat, was facing a life-threatening health condition sometime ago. Faced with financial hardships and family turmoil over his liver infection, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) came to his rescue and emerged as a lifeline for the family.

Under the flagship scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, Amit Mandali got his entire hospitalisation and treatment done for free. Today, he and his family are highly happy and relieved to have overcome the life-threatening ailment.

Amit is getting healthy again, marking the return of happiness and joy to his family. He and his family are highly grateful to PM Modi for the Ayushman scheme.

Expressing gratitude to PM Modi, they submitted: "If the Ayushman card was not there, he would not have got the treatment at a private hospital."

Amit Mandali's family comprises a son and wife as well as old parents.

The family's financial conditions are not strong and hence, when afflicted with the disease, their world came crashing down.

The family was broken and filled with sorrow, when one day, they found that Amit’s liver was damaged.

The situation became grimmer as he remained the sole earning member of the family.

He and his family were not in a position to bear the expenses at a private hospital.

At that moment, Ayushman Card scheme became his lifeline. He visited IKDRC, Ahmedabad for treatment. The complete treatment and the expenses were taken care of, under the Ayushman Bharat card.

Notably, AB PM-JAY is one of the biggest welfare schemes of PM Modi-led government, under which health cover of Rs 5 lakhs is provided to every family, amounting to approximately 55 crore beneficiaries, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.

The ambit of the scheme has been on constant expansion, after its launch in 2018.

Recently, the scheme was expanded to cover all senior citizens, at 70 years of age and above, irrespective of the income slab.

Initially, 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families comprising the bottom 40 per cent of the country's population were covered under the scheme.

In January 2022, the beneficiary base was revised to 12 crore families. The scheme was further expanded to cover 37 lakh ASHAs working across the country and their families for free healthcare benefits.