Ration Card Holders: Get Up to Rs 5 Lakh Free Treatment With an Ayushman Card, Here's How to Check Hospitals

Ration card: If your family has a ration card, this news could be useful. In Bihar, ration card holders can get free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh per family every year under the Mukhyamantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat. To use it, eligible families need to get an Ayushman Card made.

Across the country, eligible families get health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh a year under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. According to the central government, more than 45.5 crore Ayushman Cards had been issued nationwide as of 12 August 2026, and over 38,466 public and private hospitals were empanelled under the scheme.

How does a ration card help you get an Ayushman Card?

In Bihar, the ration card is used to identify the family, and you can check whether your name is on the beneficiary list. You can do this on the official PM-JAY Beneficiary Portal or through the Ayushman App.

The process works like this:

1. Go to beneficiary.nha.gov.in or open the Ayushman App.
2. Choose the Beneficiary option and log in with your mobile number using an OTP.
3. Select your state, district and the relevant scheme.
4. Under the Family ID option, search for your family using the ration card number or other available identity details.
5. The eligible members of your family will appear on screen.
6. Where the e-KYC option appears next to an eligible member, verify using Aadhaar OTP, fingerprint or face authentication.
7. Once e-KYC is complete, the Ayushman Card can be generated and downloaded.

Can't do it online? Visit a ration shop or CSC

If the online process feels difficult, there are offline options too. In Bihar, beneficiaries can contact their nearest Common Service Centre (CSC), PDS dealer or the Ayushman Mitra at a government hospital. It helps to carry your Aadhaar card and ration card when you go to get the card made.

This matters most for families who do not have easy access to the internet or online e-KYC.

What does Rs 5 lakh cover?

An Ayushman Card gives an eligible family health cover of up to Rs 5 lakh every year. It is mainly meant for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation that falls under the scheme. According to the Bihar government, cashless and paperless treatment is available under PM-JAY.

That does not mean every kind of treatment becomes free at every hospital the moment you show the card.

The most important point: not every hospital offers free treatment

Having a ration card or an Ayushman Card does not mean you can walk into any government or private hospital and get free treatment.

The hospital must be empanelled, that is listed, under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. The network includes government hospitals as well as many private ones. So check a hospital's status on the list before you go.

How to check the Ayushman hospital list from home

You can use the National Health Authority's hospital search portal.

1. Open the official hospital search portal.
2. Search by PIN code, district or hospital name.
3. The result will show whether that hospital is registered under the Ayushman scheme.

This saves you unnecessary trouble over whether the card will be accepted at the time of treatment.

The card can work outside Bihar too

One important feature of Ayushman Bharat is portability. According to the central government, inter-state portability lets eligible beneficiaries get treatment at empanelled hospitals in other states as well.

So an eligible person who needs treatment while in another state is not limited to their home district. The hospital, however, must be empanelled under the scheme.

A big benefit for people over 70

The Ayushman scheme has been extended to senior citizens aged 70 and above. According to the central government, Ayushman Vay Vandana gives health cover to everyone aged 70 and over, regardless of their socio-economic status.

If anyone in your household is 70 or older, get their eligibility verified separately.

Have a ration card? Do these 4 things first

If your family has a ration card, check these four things:

1. Whether your family's name is on the beneficiary list.
2. Whether e-KYC is complete for all eligible members.
3. Whether Ayushman Cards have been made for every eligible member.
4. Whether you have checked the nearest empanelled hospital before treatment.

The biggest mistake people make is going straight to a hospital and only later finding out that it is not listed under the scheme.

Having the card alone is not enough

Another key point is that the Rs 5 lakh cover is not an open fund for every medical expense. Benefits are given according to the treatments and packages set under the scheme. It would be wrong to assume that routine OPD visits, every kind of test or services outside the scheme are free.

Before any major treatment, it is better to confirm the relevant package and your eligibility with the hospital's Ayushman help desk or Ayushman Mitra.

Why does this ration card news matter?

A ration card is already an essential document for lakhs of families across the country. In Bihar, linking it to beneficiary verification under Ayushman and the Mukhyamantri Jan Arogya Yojana tries to make healthcare easier to reach for families for whom expensive hospital treatment can become a serious financial burden.

So if you have a ration card, do not think of it as only a way to get rations. Checking your eligibility and the Ayushman Card status of your family members can pay off.