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Bengaluru, 13 August 2026: Karnataka Cabinet has approved the ‘Sandhya Kiran’ contributory cashless healthcare scheme for state government pensioners below 70 years of age, family pensioners and eligible dependent children with disabilities.
The scheme aims to provide comprehensive healthcare protection to government pensioners and their eligible dependents through the Ayushman Bharat–Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) framework. In the initial phase, around 4.93 lakh beneficiaries are expected to come under the scheme, including approximately 3.11 lakh state government service pensioners and their eligible dependents.
Up to ₹5 Lakh Cashless Treatment Per Family Annually
The voluntary contribution-based scheme will provide cashless access to secondary, tertiary and emergency healthcare at hospitals empanelled under the scheme.
Eligible families will receive healthcare benefits up to ₹5 lakh per family per year, based on the applicable AB-ArK health benefit packages and revised package rates.
Beneficiaries will be able to avail themselves of cashless treatment at registered and approved hospitals under the scheme.
Regular service pensioners will contribute 1.25% of their basic pension, while family pensioners will contribute 0.75% of their basic family pension.
The scheme will cover eligible treatment packages under the AB-ArK system, allowing beneficiaries to access treatment without making direct payments at the point of service, subject to the scheme's terms and applicable packages.
SAST to Implement Scheme
The Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) will implement the Sandhya Kiran scheme. SAST will coordinate beneficiary registration, contribution collection, the empanelled hospital network, cashless treatment, claims management and monitoring through the AB-ArK system.
According to the Cabinet proposal, the scheme is expected to generate around ₹117 crore annually in contributions, while the estimated annual treatment expenditure is around ₹81.75 crore.
Under the AB-ArK funding model, 70% of treatment expenditure will be met through beneficiary contributions and 30% through the State government's share, according to the Cabinet note.
The government has also proposed an automatic increase in the contribution rate by 0.05 percentage points (5 basis points) if corpus utilisation exceeds 85%, with the aim of maintaining the scheme's long-term financial sustainability.
The Cabinet described the initiative as an important social-security measure intended to provide quality, affordable and cashless healthcare to state government pensioners and their families while reducing the financial burden arising from medical expenses.
Keywords
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