West Bengal has added five more AIIMS hospitals to the Swasthya Sathi health scheme, allowing beneficiaries to seek outpatient treatment, hospitalisation and other eligible care at the institutions under specified reimbursement rules. The decision was announced in a notification issued by the Medical Cell of the state Finance Department on Wednesday.
The newly included hospitals are AIIMS Kalyani in West Bengal, AIIMS Patna in Bihar, AIIMS Guwahati in Assam, AIIMS Bhubaneswar in Odisha and AIIMS Deoghar in Jharkhand. The list earlier included AIIMS at Ansari Nagar in Delhi.
The Finance Department notification said the move was intended in part to improve access to treatment for beneficiaries living in districts located far from Kolkata. The addition of hospitals in neighbouring states also creates more options for patients who may need specialised treatment outside West Bengal, subject to the conditions of the scheme.
Beneficiaries will be able to use the listed AIIMS facilities according to their medical requirements. The notification states that there will be no compulsory treatment condition linked to the new inclusion. Patients may seek outpatient care, be admitted to hospital or undergo treatment at the relevant institution, depending on their needs.
However, reimbursement will not automatically cover the entire amount charged by a hospital. The amount payable under Swasthya Sathi will be the lower of the sum charged by the concerned institution and the amount for which the beneficiary is eligible under the state scheme. Existing conditions, financial limits and restrictions will continue to apply.
The notification also clarified that outpatient treatment expenses will be reimbursed only under the applicable rules. It referred to the list of diseases and treatments set out in a notification issued on September 19, 2008. The source report said the rules would operate according to a revised notification dated September 7, 2026.
Treatment outside the approved disease or procedure list will not become reimbursable merely because the hospital has been included in the scheme. In other words, the addition of an AIIMS facility does not remove the scheme’s existing limits on eligible treatments.
Travel expenses are also excluded. The notification specifically stated that beneficiaries will not receive reimbursement or travel allowance for journeys to any of the five newly included institutions. Patients will therefore remain responsible for the cost of travelling to and from the hospitals.
The decision expands the number of major public hospitals available to Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries, but access will continue to depend on the scheme’s treatment list, reimbursement ceilings and other conditions. The Finance Department’s notified rules will govern claims made at the five newly added AIIMS facilities.
