The General Insurance Council’s shared empanelment platform now covers about 3,000 hospitals, with smaller facilities and centres outside major cities among the targets for further expansion.
The General Insurance Council has added about 1,000 hospitals to its common empanelment network since the start of financial year 2027, bringing the total on the platform to roughly 3,000, according to NDTV Profit. The industry body had already enrolled about 2,000 hospitals by the end of financial year 2026 and is aiming to reach 5,000 by the close of FY27.
The initiative is designed to make cashless health cover easier to use by allowing hospitals to sign up with multiple participating insurers through a single digital process. That is intended to cut paperwork for healthcare providers, which would otherwise have to complete separate onboarding steps for each insurer.
The council has said the project is especially aimed at smaller hospitals, including facilities in tier-two and tier-three cities and in more remote areas. A broader network could give policyholders more options for treatment closer to home, rather than forcing them to travel to larger urban centres for care.
Under the system, a hospital can seek empanelment through one agreement covering several insurers, rather than negotiating individually with each one. Once approved, it can provide cashless treatment to eligible customers, subject to policy terms and pre-authorisation. Cashless cover does not guarantee that every expense will be met, but it does mean the insurer pays the hospital directly for approved claims.
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