This document pertains to Unstarred Question No. 1322 in Lok Sabha, addressed to the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, regarding the validity of Ayushman Cards. The question was to be answered on February 6, 2026. The questions raised concerned: whether the Ayushman Card is largely valid only in Government hospitals, if card holders are often not given priority in private hospitals and the corrective steps being taken; if the Government is aware of cases where Ayushman card holder patients are not admitted in private hospitals due to delayed payments; if there is a provision to identify and penalize such hospitals; and the number of hospitals against which action has been taken.
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, answered that all eligible beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) can avail treatment through a network of over 33,270 public and private empanelled hospitals. Empanelled hospitals cannot deny treatment to eligible beneficiaries. In case of denial of treatment, beneficiaries can register grievances through the Centralized Grievance Redressal Management System (CGRMS) or the 24/7 toll-free helpline number 14555. A three-tier grievance redressal system at District, State and National level is in place, with designated nodal officers and Grievance Redressal Committees, to resolve issues faced by beneficiaries.
Key Entities Referenced
Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY): A health insurance scheme that provides financial protection to eligible beneficiaries for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: The Indian government ministry responsible for health policy and programs.
Centralized Grievance Redressal Management System (CGRMS): A system for beneficiaries of the AB-PMJAY scheme to register grievances.
GOVERNMENTOFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH ANDFAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 1322
TOBE ANSWERED ON 06TH FEBRUARY,2026
VALIDITYOFAYUSHMANCARD HOLDERS
†1322.SHRIKULDEEPINDORA:
Will the Minister of HEALTHAND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleased tostate:
(a) whether the Government is aware that Ayushman Card is largely valid only in
Government hospitals and such card holders are often not given the priority in private
hospitals andif so, the corrective steps beingtakenbythe Government inthisregard;
(b) whether the Government is also aware of such cases where Ayushman card holder
patients are not admitted in private hospitals due to delay in payment of dues by the
Government tothe hospitals andif so,the detailsthereof;
(c)whether there isanyprovision toidentify such hospitals andseverely penalizethem;and
(d) if so, the number of such hospitals against which action has been taken by the
Government so far?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OFSTATEIN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND
FAMILYWELFARE
(SHRIPRATAPRAOJADHAV)
(a) to (d): All eligible beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana (AB-PMJAY) can avail treatment through a network of over 33,270 public and
private empanelled hospitals.
As per the empanelment guidelines under AB-PMJAY, the empanelled hospitals cannot deny
treatment to eligible beneficiaries of the scheme. In case of denial of treatment by an
empanelled hospital, beneficiaries can register their grievances through the Centralized
Grievance Redressal Management System (CGRMS) or through a 24*7 toll-free helpline
number 14555. Under AB-PMJAY, a three-tier grievance redressal system at District, State
and National level has been created to resolve the issues faced by beneficiaries in utilizing
healthcare services. At each level, there are designated nodal officers and Grievance
Redressal Committeestoaddress the grievances.
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