Frequently asked questions
How cashless treatment works in India, and what to do when it does not.
What does cashless hospitalisation actually mean?
The insurer settles the hospital bill directly, so you do not pay the covered amount yourself. It only works at hospitals in your insurer's network, and usually only after the insurer or its TPA approves the admission in advance. You still pay anything your policy excludes — non-medical items, deductibles, and amounts above your room-rent or sub-limit caps.
What is pre-authorisation, and when do I need it?
Pre-authorisation is the insurer approving the admission before it happens. For planned admissions most insurers want the request filed 24 to 72 hours ahead. For emergencies the window is shorter — typically within 24 hours of admission — and the hospital usually files it for you. Skipping it is one of the most common reasons a cashless request is refused at the desk.
Why would a hospital refuse cashless even though it is on my insurer's list?
Published network lists go stale. The arrangement may have lapsed, or been suspended over a billing dispute, or the hospital may accept that insurer only for certain procedures. It can also be about your policy rather than the hospital: a waiting period, a lapsed premium, or an exclusion specific to your plan. The desk can tell you which of these applies; the list cannot.
What is a TPA and why does it matter?
A Third Party Administrator processes claims on the insurer's behalf. At the hospital desk you are usually dealing with the TPA, not the insurer, and the TPA handling your claim can differ between hospitals for the same policy. A TPA switch is a common reason a previously cashless hospital stops being cashless overnight.
My cashless request was denied at the desk. What now?
A cashless denial is not a claim denial. You can pay the bill and file for reimbursement afterwards, with the same policy and usually the same documents. Ask the desk for the written denial reason before you leave — reimbursement claims move faster when the reason is on paper. If the denial looks wrong, your insurer's toll-free line can escalate while you are still admitted.
Is the information on this site guaranteed to be correct?
No, and we would rather say so plainly. Hospital–insurer agreements end without notice. Every record here shows when it was last checked and how confident we are, and anything older than ninety days is marked as possibly outdated. Treat this site as a starting point and confirm with the hospital insurance desk before you travel.
Why does a hospital show no insurers at all?
Because we have not confirmed any yet — not because it accepts none. This directory is incomplete by nature, and we deliberately show 'we do not know' rather than a zero that could be misread as a confirmed absence of cover.
Does it cost anything to use this?
No. There is no account required to search, and no charge for anything on the site.
Something else?
If your question is not here, write to us. Questions we get more than once end up on this page.