Bajaj Allianz policyholders alert: Be prepared to pay cash for hospital stays starting September 1

In a significant development for health insurance policyholders, over 15,000 hospitals across northern India will withdraw cashless treatment facilities for customers of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance from September 1, 2025. The decision was announced by the Association of Healthcare Providers–India (AHPI).

The decision follows repeated complaints from hospitals that Bajaj Allianz has refused to revise hospital reimbursement rates in line with rising medical costs. However, hospitals will treat policyholders who then pay upfront and pursue reimbursement from the insurer afterwards.

What this means for Bajaj Allianz policyholders?

⦁ No more on-the-spot cashless care at many hospitals from September 1.

⦁ You will need to pay upfront, gather all documents (bills, discharge notes, test reports), and filing reimbursement claims yourself.

⦁ Assess hospital status before admission—confirm whether cashless is being accepted or if self-pay is required.

Explaining the rationale for this decision, AHPI Director General Girdhar Gyani said as reported by PTI: "While we continuously strive to improve efficiency and control costs, continuing at outdated rates, let alone lowering them, is unsustainable and risks compromising patient care - something AHPI and its members will not accept."

Expressing surprise over AHPI's decision, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company said it is working with the association to arrive at a solution that is in the best interests of customers.

"We are surprised by this announcement. At Bajaj Allianz, we have always believed that policyholders should receive the best possible hospitalisation experience with fair rates, seamless claims and quality service. Also, we proactively engage with all hospitals to settle any queries or dues from our side. We are confident of working amicably with AHPI and its member hospitals to arrive at a solution that is in the best interests of our customers," Bajaj Allianz General Insurance head (Health Administration Team) Bhaskar Nerurkar said in a statement, PTI reported.

Besides this, the AHPI also disclosed that it had issued a similar notice to Care Health Insurance.

"We are surprised to see this reportage as we are in receipt of a mail from AHPI only today (Aug 22nd) evening.

The said communication is generic and does not carry any details such as, names of affected providers, tariff or claim deduction challenges etc.

We have had a sustained, progressive association with AHPI, and even today connected with the forum to get specific information in this regard. However, they were unable to provide any specific details.

We have also reached out to hospitals ( Members of AHPI) who haven’t mentioned any challenges with our services.

We are confident of amicably resolving any issues with the said forum, provided our customers’ interests remain the sole objective for any productive outcome," said Manish Dodega, Chief Operating Officer, Care Health Insurance.

Association of Healthcare Providers (India) represents the majority of healthcare providers in India. It works as “not for profit” organization and advocates with the government, regulatory bodies and other stake holders on issues, which have bearing on enabling its members organizations to deliver appropriate healthcare services to community at large..