Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
How Aarogyasri colorectal cancer packages work | CION Cancer Clinics
Aarogyasri pays a network hospital a fixed amount, called a package, for each listed treatment. For colon cancer that usually means separate approvals for the operation and for each block of chemotherapy, given cashless to eligible Telangana families once the trust signs off. This page explains how those approvals run, what tends to sit inside and outside a package, and what to check before you travel. At CION Cancer Clinics, we explain costs in writing and help families from across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh plan treatment in Hyderabad.
NG
Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed October 2026, next review due October 2027
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On this page
- What is an Aarogyasri package, and how does it work for colon cancer?
- How does a colon cancer admission under Aarogyasri actually run?
- Which packages does a colon cancer journey usually touch?
- What would these steps cost without the scheme?
- What usually sits inside a package, and what often does not?
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about Aarogyasri and colon cancer
The short answer
What is an Aarogyasri package, and how does it work for colon cancer?
An Aarogyasri package is a fixed amount the scheme pays a network hospital for one listed treatment. If your family is eligible in Telangana, the operation or chemotherapy your doctor plans can be given cashless at a network hospital once the trust approves it. You should not be billed for anything inside that package.
One treatment, one approval
Colon cancer care is not one package. It is a chain of them. The operation is one. Each block of chemotherapy is another. Follow-up linked to a package is a third. At every step the hospital sends your reports and the plan to the trust, and the trust approves it before treatment starts.
Why the word package matters
The amount is fixed by the trust, not by the hospital. It is meant to cover the stay, the procedure, routine medicines and the tests needed during that admission. That is why a hospital should not charge you extra for things the package already covers. It is also why a treatment that is not on the list becomes a separate conversation, and usually a separate bill.
The scheme pays the hospital directly. Your job is to keep the card, the reports and each approval in order.Step by step
How does a colon cancer admission under Aarogyasri actually run?
Carry the card and every report
Bring the white ration card or Aarogyasri health card, the patient's Aadhaar, and every report so far: colonoscopy, biopsy and CT. Missing paper is a common reason an approval waits.
Register at the Aarogyamithra desk
Every network hospital has a scheme help desk run by an Aarogyamithra, who registers the patient and explains which package applies. Go there first, before the billing counter.
The doctors confirm the plan
The treating team confirms the diagnosis and writes the plan: which operation, or which chemotherapy and for how long. If the biopsy has not yet confirmed cancer, that comes first.
The hospital asks the trust for approval
The hospital uploads the reports and the plan. This is the pre-authorisation, and planned treatment starts after it is approved. In a genuine emergency, such as a blocked bowel, the hospital can ask for urgent approval.
Treatment, discharge and the next step
Keep the discharge summary and anything you sign. For chemotherapy, the next block of cycles may need a fresh approval, so ask the desk before each one.
Across the journey
Which packages does a colon cancer journey usually touch?
Most families meet three or four separate approvals. Knowing the order helps you keep the paperwork ready.
Reaching a diagnosis
Colonoscopy, biopsy and a staging CT come first. Whether these are covered depends on where they are done and whether they lead into a listed treatment, so ask the desk before paying for any test. The page on what diagnosis and staging cost gives the self-pay picture.
The operation
Removing the affected part of the colon, called a colectomy, is the main surgical package. An emergency operation for a blocked or torn bowel goes through a faster approval. The surgical side is covered in colectomy scheme and insurance cover.
Chemotherapy after surgery
Adjuvant chemotherapy means treatment after the operation to lower the chance of the cancer returning. Standard colon regimens are on the medical oncology list, and they are usually approved in blocks of cycles rather than all at once.
Keep ready for each block
- The latest blood report
- The previous discharge summary
- The earlier approval papers
Advanced or returning disease
Chemotherapy for cancer that has spread is also on the list. Newer targeted drugs and immunotherapy are listed only for narrow situations or not at all, which is explained further in bevacizumab and insurance cover. Liver surgery for spread and HIPEC need checking before anyone plans around them.
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Indicative cost
What would these steps cost without the scheme?
These are 2026 Hyderabad self-pay estimates, not package amounts. They show what the scheme stands in for, and what you would face for anything outside it.
₹6,000 – ₹15,000
Colonoscopy and biopsy
The test that finds the tumour and the sample that confirms it.
₹5,000 – ₹12,000
Staging CT
Chest, abdomen and pelvis, to see whether the cancer has spread.
₹1,80,000 – ₹3,50,000
Laparoscopic colectomy
Keyhole removal of the right, left or sigmoid colon, at a partner hospital.
₹1,80,000 – ₹4,50,000
Adjuvant chemotherapy, full course
FOLFOX or CAPOX after surgery, when the tumour board advises it.
₹35,000 – ₹1,20,000
Targeted therapy, per cycle
Cetuximab or bevacizumab for spread disease, often the part a package does not reach.
Indicative only. These are not Aarogyasri package amounts, which the trust sets and revises and this page does not quote. Under an approved package the trust pays the hospital, so what you pay is usually very different. Call the helpline to check what may fall outside your cover.
Side by side
What usually sits inside a package, and what often does not?
Usually inside the package
Often outside, or a separate approval
The operation, the hospital stay and routine medicines
A costlier technique the package amount does not reflect, such as robotic surgery
Standard chemotherapy on a listed regimen
Newer targeted drugs and immunotherapy
Tests needed during an approved admission
Tests done privately before you registered
Follow-up linked to the package
Travel, lodging and lost wages for the family
Care at a hospital empanelled for that specialty
Care at a hospital outside the network for it
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether your family is eligible. That depends on your ration card and the trust's current records. It cannot give you a package amount or a package code either. The trust revises its list by government order, and the only reliable figure is the one on your approval.
Whether a hospital can book your step today
Empanelment is by specialty, and it changes. A hospital may be in the network for surgery but not for chemotherapy, or the other way round. Before you travel from a district, ask the Aarogyamithra desk, or call the CION helpline and ask whether the part of care you need can be booked under your card at a CION centre or a partner hospital.
Who this page is not for
Families in Andhra Pradesh use NTR Vaidya Seva, a separate scheme with its own rules. State and central government employees usually have their own health schemes. If the cancer is in the rectum rather than the colon, the packages include radiation and differ, so start with the rectal cancer hub.
If a package is refused, or a hospital asks you to pay inside one, ask for the reason in writing before you agree to anything.Questions we are asked
Common questions about Aarogyasri and colon cancer
Does Aarogyasri cover colon cancer treatment?
Yes, for eligible Telangana families. The operation to remove the cancer and standard chemotherapy are on the scheme's list, and are given cashless at network hospitals once the trust approves the plan. Some newer medicines and some complex operations are not listed, so check before planning around them.
Who is eligible for Aarogyasri in Telangana?
Broadly, families holding a white ration card or a food security card whose names are in the trust's records. The Aarogyamithra desk checks this using the card and Aadhaar. If a family member's name is missing from the card, sort it out at the ration card office before an admission, not during one.
Is chemotherapy covered, or only surgery?
Both. Chemotherapy is approved separately from the operation, usually in blocks of cycles, and each block may need its own sign-off. Keep the approval papers and blood reports together, and ask the desk before every block whether a fresh approval is needed, so a cycle is not delayed.
What if the hospital asks me to pay during a package admission?
Ask what the charge is for and whether it sits inside the package, and ask for it in writing. Items inside an approved package should not be billed to you. If you are not satisfied, the Aarogyamithra can raise it, and the scheme has its own grievance helpline.
Are targeted therapy and immunotherapy covered?
Often not, or only in narrow situations. These medicines are mainly used when colon cancer has spread, and they cost far more per cycle than standard chemotherapy. Ask your oncologist whether a listed option exists, and ask the helpline about manufacturer patient-assistance programmes before you decide.
We live in Andhra Pradesh. Can we use Aarogyasri in Hyderabad?
Telangana's Aarogyasri is for Telangana families. Andhra Pradesh families are covered by NTR Vaidya Seva, which has its own network, and an Ayushman Bharat card can be used across states at empanelled hospitals. Check which card applies, and which Hyderabad hospitals accept it, before you travel.
Can I get a second opinion while being treated under the scheme?
Yes. Asking for one is reasonable and common. A consultation outside a package admission is usually paid separately. CION's oncologists give second opinions at every centre. Bring the biopsy, the scans and the proposed plan, and they will tell you whether the plan fits your stage.
What should we carry to the hospital?
The white ration card or health card, the patient's Aadhaar, a phone that can receive messages, and every report in date order: colonoscopy, biopsy, CT scans and any discharge summaries. A folder kept only for scheme papers saves time at every visit and every new approval.
What moves the figure
What affects the cost
Four things change the total more than anything else.
The technique used
A shaped or image-guided delivery costs more than a conventional one, and is chosen on clinical grounds rather than preference.
How many sessions
The total is driven by the number of sittings or cycles, not by a single per-visit figure.
Supporting tests
Scans, blood work and pathology done alongside treatment are billed separately.
Your cover
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS or cashless insurance usually change the out-of-pocket figure substantially.
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
Your Specialists
Meet CION's colon cancer specialists. Bring your colonoscopy, scan or biopsy report.
Our surgical and medical oncologists plan colon cancer care together: which operation, whether chemotherapy is needed, and the follow-up that comes after.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Want a specific doctor for your case? Mention them when booking.
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Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. One helpline books a consultation at any of these centres, and your team will tell you where each test and operation takes place.
Warangal
Vizag
Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Managing Cancer Costs and Medical Information
- American Cancer Society — Colon Cancer Treatment, by Stage
- American Cancer Society — Colon Cancer Surgery
- American Cancer Society — Colorectal Cancer Chemotherapy
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Colon cancer under AarogyasriEligibility and the wider scheme, before the package detailColon cancer under Ayushman BharatIf your family holds an Ayushman card insteadWhy colon cancer claims get rejectedThe paperwork gaps that hold up an approvalColectomy: scheme and insurance coverThe surgical package in more detail
Talk to us
Not sure whether your card covers the next step?
Tell us where you are in treatment and which scheme card your family holds. We will tell you what we can about booking that step and what to ask the hospital desk. One helpline serves every CION centre.