CGHS gives Ayush hospitals until November 30 to finish online re-empanelment
Representative image: Republica / Pixabay
CGHS has extended the empanelment of Ayush hospitals and day-care centres to November 30, 2026, giving them more time to move to the HEM 2.0 portal.
What Happened
Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy hospitals and day-care centres already on the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) panel can keep treating scheme members until November 30, 2026. The Directorate of CGHS, under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, extended their empanelment in an office memorandum dated September 30, 2026, which was reported in early October. Without the extension, Ayush centres that had not moved to the scheme's new online empanelment system by September 30 faced removal from the panel from October 1. The memorandum also tells CGHS officials to finish the fresh empanelment of eligible Ayush centres by the new deadline.
Key Facts
- Validity of existing CGHS-empanelled Ayush health care organisations is extended up to November 30, 2026.
- The order is an office memorandum of the CGHS directorate dated September 30, 2026.
- An earlier memorandum of July 9, 2026 had asked existing Ayush day-care and in-patient centres to register on the Hospital Empanelment Module (HEM) portal and sign a fresh memorandum of agreement by September 30.
- Under the July order, centres that missed that date were to be de-empanelled from October 1, 2026.
- During the extension, existing Ayush centres continue to serve eligible CGHS beneficiaries under current CGHS rules, approved rates and their existing agreements.
- Additional Directors of CGHS in each city must complete scrutiny of applications, clear pending queries, carry out physical inspections where needed, sign agreements and verify performance bank guarantees before November 30.
- Under the July order, Ayush day-care centres pay a non-refundable application fee of Rs 2,000, while in-patient hospitals pay no application fee.
Why It Matters
CGHS is the health scheme for central government employees, pensioners and their families. For Ayush, its panel matters because it is one of the main routes by which patients can get traditional-medicine treatment such as Panchakarma, Ayurvedic in-patient care or Unani therapy at a private centre with the cost covered under a government scheme. If a centre falls off the panel, its CGHS patients must either pay themselves and seek reimbursement or move to another centre in the middle of treatment.
The government is moving all empanelment onto a single online system, version 2.0 of the Hospital Empanelment Module. That is meant to make the process uniform and easier to track, with every centre applying afresh, meeting the same standards and signing the same agreement. The extension suggests that a number of Ayush centres, or the officials checking them, were not ready by the September 30 cut-off. In recent weeks CGHS offices in several cities, including Chennai, Prayagraj and Meerut, have issued orders removing hospitals whose empanelment was not renewed, which shows the deadlines are being enforced.
For Ayush practitioners who run small day-care therapy centres, the extension is breathing space rather than a waiver. They still need to complete their HEM application, pass any inspection and sign the agreement. For patients, it means that ongoing courses of treatment at an existing panel centre can continue for now.
| Item | July 9 order | September 30 order |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline for existing Ayush centres | September 30, 2026 | November 30, 2026 |
| What happens after the deadline | De-empanelment from October 1 | Empanelment to be completed by November 30 |
| Services meanwhile | Not applicable | Continue under current rates and rules |
Impact
Short-term: CGHS members can keep using their current Ayush panel centre until November 30, 2026, and the centres get two more months to finish online registration.
Long-term: Once the move to HEM 2.0 is complete, only centres that have applied afresh and met the standards will remain on the CGHS panel, which could make the list of Ayush options more reliable but may also make it shorter.
Who is affected: Central government employees, pensioners and their families who use Ayush treatment under CGHS, and private Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Yoga and Homoeopathy hospitals and day-care centres on the panel.
Key Takeaway
CGHS has given empanelled Ayush hospitals and day-care centres until November 30, 2026 to complete online re-empanelment, so members' Ayush treatment can continue in the meantime.
Questions and Answers
Can CGHS beneficiaries still get treatment at their usual Ayush centre in October and November 2026?
Yes. If the centre was already on the CGHS panel, it can keep serving eligible beneficiaries until November 30, 2026 under the current rates and rules.
What is HEM 2.0?
It is the Hospital Empanelment Module, the online portal CGHS now uses for hospitals and centres to apply for empanelment, submit documents and sign their agreement with the scheme.
What happens to an Ayush centre that does not complete the process by November 30?
The September 30 memorandum asks officials to complete empanelment of eligible centres by that date. Under the earlier order, centres that did not complete onboarding were to be de-empanelled, so a centre that misses the new deadline risks losing its CGHS status.
Does an Ayush centre pay a fee to apply?
Under the July 2026 order, day-care centres pay a non-refundable fee of Rs 2,000, while in-patient Ayush hospitals pay no application fee.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
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