Nadda: 49% hospital admissions availed by women till December

New Delhi: As on December 31, 2025, about 49 per cent of the total 11.22 crore hospital admissions under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) have been availed by women, Union Health minister J P Nadda told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

A total of 85.48 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA), which provides a unique digital health identity to citizens and enables secure access, viewing and consent-based sharing of their medical records with healthcare providers, have been created across the country as of February 2.

Under the AB-PMJAY, hospital empanelment is a continuous process and is undertaken by implementing state and UT based on the

requirements and availability of healthcare providers meeting the

criteria as per empanelment guidelines of National Health Authority.

The empanelment of private hospitals under the scheme is entirely voluntary.

The empanelment of hospitals under the scheme has increased from 6,917 hospitals in fiscal 2018-19, comprising 3,013 public and 3,904

private hospitals, to 33,270 hospitals as on December 21, 2025, out of which 17,537 are public and 15,733 are private hospitals.

Of the 15,733 empanelled private hospitals, 6,952 private hospitals have been empanelled in the last three years (between April 2022 and March 2025), whereas 458 hospitals have voluntarily opted out of the scheme during the same period due to reasons including administrative reasons, empanelment only for the COVID period, closure or non-functionality of hospitals, relocation of hospitals, among others.

Also, a total of 1,259 private hospitals are empanelled in aspirational districts across the country.

All eligible beneficiaries under AB-PMJAY can avail treatment through a network of over 33,270 public and private empanelled hospitals.

In cases of denial of treatment by an empanelled hospital, beneficiaries

can register their grievances through the Centralized Grievance Redressal Management System (CGRMS) or the 24x7 toll-free helpline number 14555.

Under the scheme, settlement of claims is a regular and uninterrupted process and claims are settled by respective State Health Agencies as per claim adjudication guidelines.