: Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that suitable actions including rejection of 3.56 lakh claims worth Rs 643 crore and de-empanelment of 1,114 hospitals have been taken against fraudulent entities as reported by the states and UTs under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme. He said in a written reply that 1,504 errant hospitals have been penalised Rs 122 crore and 549 hospitals have been suspended. The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is a flagship scheme of the government which provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to approximately 55 crore beneficiaries corresponding to 12.37 crore families constituting economically vulnerable bottom 40 per cent of India's population. On October 29, 2024, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced expansion of AB-PMJAY to include all senior citizens aged 70 years and above. Under the expansion, all