# National Health Authority (Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY)

Source: https://onco.cc/institutions/nha-pmjay/  
OnCo record `nha-pmjay` (Institution). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The agency that runs India's public health insurance for the poorest 40% of the population, which pays for cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy up to a yearly limit per family.

## Summary

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana was launched on 23 September 2018 and is administered by the National Health Authority with state health agencies. It offers a cashless cover of 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospital care to roughly the poorest 40% of Indians (the original target was about 10 crore households, around 50 crore people), and in September 2024 was extended to everyone aged 70 and over regardless of income. Oncology packages (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and supportive care) are among the most used tertiary benefits, and public and empanelled private cancer hospitals, including the Tata Memorial units, treat PM-JAY patients.

Evidence so far: a 2025 study of 6,695 cancer patients at seven centres in six states found that PM-JAY enrolment was associated with a large improvement in starting treatment within 30 days of diagnosis, and that patients diagnosed after 2018 had 36% higher odds of timely treatment than those diagnosed earlier. Gaps remain: outpatient care, most oral drugs and diagnostics are outside the cover, and package rates for newer drugs are low.

## Fields

- Kind: Institution
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Also known as: NHA; PM-JAY; Ayushman Bharat; Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
- City: New Delhi, IN
- Type: government
- Website: https://nha.gov.in/PM-JAY

## Sources

- National Health Authority: PM-JAY: https://nha.gov.in/PM-JAY
- Timely cancer treatment initiation and PM-JAY (Lancet Reg Health SE Asia 2025): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lansea.2024.100514

## Connected records

- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- technologies: [Global oncology and access in low- and middle-income countries](https://onco.cc/technologies/global-oncology-access/)
- institutions: [National Cancer Grid of India](https://onco.cc/institutions/national-cancer-grid/), [Tata Memorial Centre](https://onco.cc/institutions/tata-memorial/), [The new AIIMS network (PMSSY)](https://onco.cc/institutions/aiims-network/)
- people: [Sunil Kumar Barnwal](https://onco.cc/people/sunil-kumar-barnwal/)
- bottlenecks: [Most of the world has almost no cancer care](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-global-access/), [Prices and value](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-drug-pricing/)
- key papers: [Access to timely cancer treatment initiation in India: extent, determinants and trends](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-halder-lancet-reg-health-southeast-asia/), [Cancer Statistics, 2020: Report from National Cancer Registry Programme, India](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-mathur-ncrp-cancer-statistics-2020/)

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