Cashless vs Reimbursement — Which Route Gets Your PET-CT Done Faster?

Reimbursement gets you scanned faster because there is no waiting for insurer approval. You pay at the imaging centre on the day, the scan proceeds immediately, and you submit your documents and claim afterwards. Cashless pre-authorisation typically adds one to two working days before the scan can be confirmed. If the scan is urgent and you can pay upfront, reimbursement removes that delay. If paying upfront is not possible, your oncologist's team can often request expedited pre-auth for urgent cases.

Apply as soon as the scan is decided — ideally three to five working days before the planned date. This allows time for the insurer to respond and for you to provide any additional documents they request. Do not book the scan date first and apply for pre-auth after; most insurers will not approve a cashless claim retrospectively for a scan that has already taken place. If the scan is urgent, ask your oncologist to mark the pre-auth request accordingly — IRDAI guidelines require insurers to process urgent requests within shorter timeframes than routine ones.

Yes. If the insurer's response is delayed and the scan cannot wait, pay for the scan yourself and submit a reimbursement claim afterwards. Tell the imaging centre you are switching routes and ask for a full itemised receipt rather than a summary bill. Keep the written pre-auth request you submitted, even if it was never approved — this shows your insurer you attempted cashless first and strengthens your reimbursement claim if they question why you did not use that route.

Partial approval means your insurer will cover the scan up to the approved amount and you pay the difference on the day as a co-payment. Ask the imaging centre in advance what that shortfall will be so you are not caught out at the desk. If the approved amount is well below the actual cost, ask your oncologist's team to write to the insurer explaining why the full cost is clinically justified. You can also ask the imaging centre whether a clinically appropriate variant of the scan falls within the approved amount — your oncologist needs to confirm it would still answer the clinical question.

Not always. Coverage depends on your specific policy: whether cancer investigations are included, whether a waiting period applies, and how the scan is classified. The most common reason for denial is that the referral did not describe the clinical indication specifically enough for the insurer's assessor to match it to a covered condition. Ask your oncologist to write the referral with the cancer type, the clinical question the scan will answer, and, where applicable, a reference to the guideline that recommends it.

Before leaving the imaging centre, collect the original itemised bill and payment receipt. Combine these with your oncologist's referral, all supporting reports submitted with it, a completed claim form from your insurer, and your policy document. Submit at your insurer's nearest branch or through their portal. Most policies set a time limit for submitting claims after the service date — check this before your scan appointment. If submitting physical documents, keep photocopies of everything before handing them over, as original documents are not always returned.