Care Health network hospitals: how to find and confirm a cashless hospital
Care Health Insurance's cashless network runs to 12,000+ hospitals, the figure on our Care plan pages (nyvo policy database, October 2026). Care doesn't show city counts that we could read. If your policy has the optional Smart Select cover, a shorter hospital list applies, and treatment outside it costs you 20% of every claim.
Written by Shifa NooraniReviewed by Shadab SayeedUpdated nyvo insurance Services LLP, IRDAI Corporate Agent (Composite) CA1085Salaried advisors, no commission-based ranking
This is independent information from nyvo insurance Services LLP, an IRDAI-registered corporate agent (licence CA1085). It isn't the website of Care Health Insurance Ltd.. The figures come from nyvo's policy database and, where we could read them, Care Health's own pages and documents, each with its date.
Care Health network hospitals at a glance
| Network size | 12,000+ hospitals |
|---|---|
| Where to search | Care's network hospital search |
| City-wise counts | Not available to us from Care's site (checked 24 October 2026) |
| Smart Select | Optional on Care Supreme, Care Advantage, Care, Senior Health Advantage and Ultimate Care: a shorter hospital list, with a 20% co-pay on each claim outside it |
| Excluded hospitals | Annexure II, "List of hospitals where claim will not be admitted", in the Care Supreme prospectus (read 24 October 2026) |
| Service line | 1800-102-4488 (checked on Care's own site, 20 September 2026) |
| Sales line, not for claims | 1800-102-4499, which Care's site lists for new policies |
| Claim guide | Care Health claim guide |
How do I find a Care Health hospital in my city?
We couldn't get a city-wise count from Care, so this page doesn't print one. Use Care's network hospital search and look up each hospital you'd consider by name.
Care's own prospectus says it can change the network, or limit cashless at a particular hospital, and points you to its website or call centre for the current list. So check again before a planned admission, even if you checked when you bought.
A practical way to do it: write down the nearest hospital to your home, the nearest to your parents' home and the one your family doctor sends people to. Check all three. That's a five-minute job now and a stressful one at an admission desk.
How do I check a hospital is cashless on my Care Health policy?
- 1Search each hospital by name on Care's network hospital search.
- 2If your schedule shows Smart Select, check the hospital is on Care's Smart Select list as well. On that option, being in the network isn't enough.
- 3Call Care's service line, 1800-102-4488, and ask whether the hospital is active for cashless on your plan. Not 1800-102-4499: that one is for buying a new policy.
- 4Ask the hospital's insurance desk whether it's taking cashless for Care Health right now, for your treatment. Desks are sometimes behind on their own status, so if the desk and Care Health disagree, go by Care Health.
- 5For a planned admission, start the pre-authorisation before the day you're admitted and keep the approval reference. It's what you quote if anything changes during the stay.
Does Care Health charge more at some hospitals?
Only if you've chosen Smart Select. It's an optional cover that lowers the premium in exchange for a shorter hospital list. The Care Supreme prospectus (section 3.2.1) prints that list as Annexure III and puts a 20% co-payment on each and every claim from a hospital outside it, on top of any other co-pay. On the plan called Care, it takes up to 15% off the premium.
Worked through: on a ₹4 lakh admissible claim at a hospital off the Smart Select list, ₹80,000 is yours. Without Smart Select, Care's plans don't charge a co-pay for using a hospital outside the network. You go cashless at a network hospital, ask for cashless under Cashless Everywhere elsewhere, or pay and claim back.
Care also names hospitals where it won't admit a claim. The Care Supreme prospectus lists them as Annexure II, and its excluded-provider clause (Code-Excl11) pays only up to stabilisation, and only in a life-threatening situation or after an accident.
What happens at the hospital desk?
At a network hospital, the insurance desk sends the cashless request with your health card and ID. IRDAI's 2024 Master Circular on Health Insurance Business gives the insurer one hour to decide on a cashless request and three hours to give final approval once the hospital asks to discharge you. If final approval takes longer than three hours, any extra the hospital charges for the wait is the insurer's to bear, not yours.
Cashless isn't a zero bill. Co-pay, non-payable items and anything above your plan's limits are still yours at discharge. Our Care Health claim guide has the full steps and the documents, and if a request stalls, call Care's service line, 1800-102-4488.
Hospital not in the network? Since January 2024, Cashless Everywhere lets you ask for cashless at a hospital outside the network too. Tell Care Health at least 48 hours before a planned admission; the hospital has to agree, and an excluded hospital is the exception. How cashless works in general is in our guide to cashless network hospitals.
Care Health network hospitals: questions people ask
What is Smart Select on a Care Health policy?
It's an optional cover that lowers your premium in exchange for using a shorter list of hospitals. Treat at a hospital outside that list and you pay 20% of each claim, on top of any other co-pay (Care Supreme prospectus). On a ₹4 lakh admissible claim that's ₹80,000, so take it only if your nearest hospitals are on the list.
Which of Care's two toll-free numbers is for hospital questions?
1800-102-4488, Care's service line. Care's site header prints 1800-102-4499 right beside it, but that one is for new policies, and calling it from a hospital puts you in the sales queue. Our team checked both against Care's own site on 20 September 2026.
Where is Care Health's list of excluded hospitals?
In the prospectus. Care Supreme's prospectus prints it as Annexure II, "List of hospitals where claim will not be admitted", which we read on 24 October 2026. At those hospitals Care pays only up to stabilisation, and only in a life-threatening situation or after an accident. Care keeps the current list on its website, so check there before a planned admission.
Do Care's online doctor consultations use its network?
Yes. Care Supreme's unlimited e-consultations are with general physicians in Care's network, and Care Freedom gives up to 8 consultations a year with Care's network doctors, plus discounts at network pharmacies and wellness centres. Ask Care's service line how to book them on your plan; they aren't in the hospital search.
Network hospital lists for other insurers
- Aditya Birla Health network hospitals
- Tata AIG network hospitals
- SBI General network hospitals
- ManipalCigna network hospitals
More on Care Health: Care Health review · Care Health customer care · Care Health claim settlement ratio
Sources
- Care Health network hospital search, the insurer's own search; it wouldn't open for us on 24 October 2026, so no figure here comes from it
- Care Supreme prospectus, Smart Select (3.2.1), the network clause, Annexure II (excluded hospitals) and Annexure III (the Smart Select list), read 24 October 2026
- Our explainer: IRDAI's Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, 2024, the one-hour and three-hour cashless rules
- nyvo policy database: Care Supreme review, network figure, Smart Select and the network e-consultations