Ayush care moves towards hospitals as insurance cover and private investment grow

India's traditional medicine sector is starting to move beyond clinics and colleges towards hospital care, according to sector data and research published in the past three weeks. Figures reported on 6 October 2026 show that dedicated Ayush dispensaries grew from 26,130 in 2013-14 to 37,804 in 2024-25, while Ayush hospitals rose far more slowly, from 3,605 to 3,885. Consultancy Primus Partners, in its Ayush Vision 2030 report, estimates the Ayush healthcare-services economy at about $26 billion in 2024, up from $21.5 billion in 2022, and says wider insurance cover and private investment in hospitals could drive the next phase.

The two sets of numbers tell one story. Over a decade the country added more than 11,000 Ayush dispensaries but fewer than 300 hospitals. Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy have therefore been delivered mostly as outpatient care: a consultation, a prescription, a course of therapy. The RIS study makes the same point from the revenue side, finding that clinics and day-care facilities remain the backbone of what the sector earns.

That shape has a direct effect on insurance. Health policies in India typically pay for Ayush treatment when the patient is admitted to a recognised Ayush hospital. Where there are few such hospitals, a policy that covers Ayush on paper is hard to use in practice. This is why the regulator's 2024 direction, which asked every insurer to adopt a board-approved approach to Ayush cover, has not on its own made claims common.

It also explains why hospitals are now the focus. More beds that meet accreditation standards would give insurers something to empanel and patients somewhere to claim. Private investors, in turn, are more willing to build hospitals when a share of the bills will be paid by insurers and not only out of pocket.

For a system that asks to be judged where tradition meets evidence, hospital care raises the bar. Inpatient treatment needs standard treatment protocols, records that can be audited and outcomes that can be measured. The RIS study's recommendations point the same way: wider quality accreditation, digital health records, workforce skilling and careful adoption of new technology.

Short-term: Patients with health policies should check whether Ayush treatment is covered, in which hospitals, and up to what limit, since cover differs between insurers and products.

Long-term: If accredited Ayush hospitals multiply and insurers empanel them, more Ayush treatment could be paid through insurance, and hospitals would have to document protocols and results more rigorously.

Who is affected: Patients who use Ayurveda and other Ayush systems, Ayush doctors and graduates looking for hospital roles, private hospital investors, and health insurers.

Questions and Answers