Health
Check Ayushman Bharat eligibility and get your card
How to find out whether your family is covered under PM-JAY, create the card yourself online, find an empanelled hospital, and what to do if a hospital refuses treatment.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY provides cashless hospital cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year at empanelled hospitals. Eligibility is not something you apply for — it is determined from existing government data, so the first question is always whether your family is already on the list.
The card itself is free and you can generate it yourself. Every 'Ayushman card agent' charging a fee is selling something the government gives away, and several such operations have been prosecuted.
Before you start
- Aadhaar with an active linked mobile number, for e-KYC.
- Your ration card, which is often how families are identified.
- The names and Aadhaar details of family members you want added.
Step by step
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Check eligibility first
Go to beneficiary.nha.gov.in or the PM-JAY site and use the eligibility search. Enter your state and search by mobile number, ration card number, Aadhaar or name. If your family appears, you are covered.
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Log in as a beneficiary
On the beneficiary portal, log in with your mobile number and OTP, select your state and scheme, and search for your family.
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Complete e-KYC
For each member, complete Aadhaar e-KYC — by OTP, fingerprint, iris or face authentication. Face authentication through the app is usually easiest for elderly members who cannot travel.
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Upload a photo and submit
Capture a live photograph, confirm the details, and submit. Approval is often immediate but can be routed to a state authority for verification.
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Download the card
Once approved, download the Ayushman card as a PDF from the same portal. Save it on your phone and print a copy for the household.
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Find an empanelled hospital before you need one
Use the hospital finder on the PM-JAY site to list empanelled public and private hospitals near you, by speciality. Doing this in advance rather than during an emergency is the difference between using the cover and not.
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Use it at the hospital
Go to the Ayushman Mitra desk inside the hospital with your card and Aadhaar. Treatment under a covered package is cashless — you should not be asked to pay and claim later.
Fees, timelines and key facts
| Cover | Up to ₹5 lakh per family per year, on a family floater basis |
|---|---|
| Cost of the card | Free |
| Who is eligible | Families identified from prescribed deprivation and occupational criteria, plus categories added by individual states; senior citizen coverage has been extended in recent years |
| Where it works | Only at empanelled hospitals, public and private |
| What it covers | Listed treatment packages including pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation periods |
| Helpline | 14555 — the national PM-JAY helpline |
If something goes wrong
Your family does not appear in the search
Try searching by a different key — ration card instead of mobile, or name plus location. If genuinely absent, check whether your state runs a converged state scheme with its own list.
A hospital demands payment despite the card
Call 14555 from the hospital, and speak to the Ayushman Mitra desk. Refusing cashless treatment for a covered package at an empanelled hospital is a breach of empanelment terms and is actionable.
e-KYC fails for an elderly relative
Use face authentication through the app, which does not depend on fingerprint quality.
Someone asks for money to make your card
Refuse and report. The card is free at the portal and at Common Service Centres under the prescribed nominal charge only where a state permits it.
Questions people ask
Do I have to apply to become eligible?
No. Eligibility is drawn from existing databases. You check whether you are on the list and then create the card. There is no application to join.
Is the ₹5 lakh per person or per family?
Per family per year, on a floater basis — one member's treatment can consume the whole amount.
Does it cover treatment at any hospital?
No. Only at empanelled hospitals. Check the hospital finder before admission wherever the situation allows.
What if I already have health insurance?
PM-JAY cover is independent of private insurance. Which you use for a given admission depends on the hospital and the package.
Official pages for this task
These are the only sites that can actually do this for you. Everything else is a middleman.