The Punjab Government is set to launch a universal health insurance scheme covering all 65 lakh families in the state. The official announcement will be made on July 8 by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal, with the government targeting to roll out the scheme within the next three months.
A senior state official confirmed that following the announcement, the proposal will be placed before the Cabinet for approval by the end of the week. Soon after, tenders will be invited to select an insurance provider. Beneficiaries will receive a Sehat Card, which will enable them to access healthcare services.
The initiative, announced in the 2025-26 Budget with an allocation of ₹778 crore, offers each family a health insurance cover of ₹10 lakh per year. The scheme aims to provide seamless, cashless, and paperless treatment across government and empanelled private hospitals in Punjab, with no restrictions on family size every member will be included.
This makes Punjab the first state to offer universal health coverage of ₹10 lakh, regardless of a family’s income or place of residence. Until now, only Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand have implemented universal health insurance schemes, each offering up to ₹5 lakh in coverage.
Presently, around 45 lakh families (about 1.97 crore individuals) in Punjab are covered under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and the state’s Mukh Mantri Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana, both providing ₹5 lakh in coverage. These families will now receive an additional ₹5 lakh in insurance coverage, while the remaining 20 lakh families, who are not covered by any government health insurance, will be provided with a full ₹10 lakh cover.
The revamped Mukh Mantri Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana will cover all Punjab residents, including retired government employees living in other states. Patients requiring specialized treatment outside Punjab will also be eligible for benefits, provided the hospitals are part of the Ayushman Bharat network. The insurance will cover around 1,950 medical procedures.
Between 2019 and 2024, Punjab recorded nearly 19.87 lakh hospital admissions, incurring an expenditure of ₹2,490.35 crore, highlighting the critical need for this comprehensive healthcare initiative.
