Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
How an Aarogyasri surgery package works | CION Cancer Clinics
An Aarogyasri package is a fixed sum the scheme pays a network hospital for one listed operation, covering the surgery, the stay, the medicines and tests during it, and often a period of follow-up. The hospital accepts that sum as full payment and cannot bill you for anything inside it. This page explains what a package code decides, what usually sits outside it, and what to ask the scheme desk. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
MI
Medically reviewed by Dr. Mohammed ImaduddinConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS, MS (General Surgery), MCh (Surgical Oncology) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- How does an Aarogyasri surgery package actually work?
- What one package is meant to cover
- The life of a package, from the first visit to the trust paying
- Inside the package and outside it, compared
- Words you will hear at the scheme desk, in plain language
- Four things families believe about scheme packages
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about Aarogyasri surgery packages
The short answer
How does an Aarogyasri surgery package actually work?
An Aarogyasri package is a fixed sum the scheme pays a network hospital for one listed operation, from admission to discharge and often through a period of follow-up. The hospital accepts that sum as full payment for everything inside the package. You are not billed for those items, whatever they cost the hospital.
Why it is a package and not a bill
A private insurer pays a share of the actual bill, line by line. The scheme does not look at the bill at all. It looks at the package code the surgeon chose, checks the operation was done and the records are complete, and pays the rate for that code. That is why a scheme patient never sees an itemised bill for the operation.
What the code decides
Each listed operation has a code, a rate, a room category and, for many, a follow-up period. The surgeon picks the code that matches the planned operation. A bigger operation has a different code and rate. If the plan changes on the table, the hospital asks the trust to change the code.
Package rates are set by the trust and revised from time to time. The desk can tell you which code was used for your case.Inside the package
What one package is meant to cover
The exact list varies by code. These are the parts that are inside almost every surgical oncology package.
The operation itself
Surgeon, anaesthetist, theatre time, the implants and staplers the code allows, and the pathology report on what was removed. If the operation needs a stapler or a mesh, that is the hospital's cost, not yours.
The stay
The bed for the number of days the package allows, in the room category the scheme sets, plus ICU days where the code includes them. Nursing, dressings and the medicines given on the ward are inside.
Ask the desk
- How many ward and ICU days the code allows
- What happens if recovery takes longer
Tests linked to the operation
Blood tests, imaging and fitness checks done at the hospital as part of the approved admission. Tests done elsewhere before you registered are outside, though their reports are used.
Follow-up care
Many cancer codes include visits and medicines at the same hospital for a set period after discharge. The period and what is included are written against the code. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are separate packages.
From code to payment
The life of a package, from the first visit to the trust paying
Registration and code selection
The Aarogyasri Mithra registers the patient on the card. The surgeon chooses the package code that matches the planned operation and writes the case sheet.
Pre-authorisation
Reports, photographs and the plan are uploaded. The trust's doctors approve the code, ask a question, or refuse. Planned operations wait for approval.
The operation and the stay
The hospital provides everything inside the code without billing you. If a complication needs more days or another procedure, the hospital asks the trust for an enhancement or a second code.
Discharge and claim
The hospital uploads the discharge summary, the operation notes and photographs as proof. The trust checks them and pays the hospital the package rate. You see none of this money.
Follow-up period
Where the code includes it, you return to the same hospital for visits and medicines for the set period. Missing these visits can end the follow-up cover early.
Leave a number, we will call you
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Side by side
Inside the package and outside it, compared
Inside the package: not billed to you
Outside the package: may be billed to you
The operation, the team and the theatre
A private room you asked for above the scheme category
Ward and ICU days the code allows
Food, stay and travel for the attendant
Medicines, dressings and consumables during the stay
Medicines bought outside once the follow-up period ends
Tests and the pathology report at the hospital
Tests done privately before registering on the scheme
Follow-up visits written against the code
A treatment the trust has not approved as a listed package
At the desk
Words you will hear at the scheme desk, in plain language
- Package code
- The scheme's number for one listed operation. It fixes the rate, the room category and the follow-up period.
- Network hospital
- A hospital the trust has empanelled to treat scheme patients. Only these can claim a package.
- Aarogyasri Mithra
- The scheme's coordinator at the hospital. Registers the patient, tracks the approval and answers questions about the package.
- Enhancement
- A request to the trust for more than the code allows, usually because a complication needed extra days or a second procedure.
- Follow-up period
- The time after discharge during which visits and medicines at the same hospital are still inside the package.
Commonly believed
Four things families believe about scheme packages
"The package rate is what the operation is worth."
The rate is what the trust has agreed to pay a network hospital. It is not a price list, and it says nothing about how the operation is done. Do not compare it with a private quote.
"If the stay runs long, we will be billed for the extra days."
If the extra days are for a complication of the approved operation, the hospital asks the trust for an enhancement. You are not meant to be billed. Ask the desk what has been requested if the stay goes beyond what the code allows.
"We must buy the medicines ourselves and get the money back."
During the stay, medicines inside the package are the hospital's cost, and there is no reimbursement route for you. If you are handed a prescription to buy outside, ask the desk why, and get the answer in writing before paying.
"The package covers the whole cancer treatment."
One package covers one operation and its follow-up. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a second operation are separate packages, each approved on its own and counting against the family's annual limit. Ask the desk what the whole plan will use.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
This page cannot tell you the rate for your operation or how many days your code allows. Rates are set by the trust and change. The desk at the network hospital can look up the code on the scheme's system and tell you exactly what it includes.
When a package does not fit the plan
Sometimes the operation your surgeon recommends does not match any listed code well, or the code that fits allows fewer days than the surgeon expects. Ask the surgeon what the plan would be without the scheme, and whether a listed alternative would serve as well. The medical decision belongs to your team, not the scheme.
Other cover alongside the scheme
A scheme package and a private policy cannot both be claimed for one admission. But CGHS, ECHS, EHS or a private policy can be kept for treatment the scheme does not list, or for a year when the family limit is used up. CION accepts Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS and EHS, and most cashless insurers are empanelled. Tell the desk about every cover you hold.
If you are asked to pay for anything during a scheme admission, ask for it in writing with the reason. Most such requests are for items outside the package; a few are mistakes.Questions we are asked
Common questions about Aarogyasri surgery packages
Can we see the package rate for our operation?
Ask the Aarogyasri Mithra for the code and what it includes. The rate is an agreement between the trust and the hospital, and the desk may or may not show the figure, but the code, the room category, the days allowed and the follow-up period are yours to know. Write them down.
What if the surgeon finds more during the operation?
The hospital records what was done and asks the trust to change the code or add a second one. That is routine. It does not become your bill. If the operation turns out smaller than planned, the code is changed the other way. Ask the desk what was finally submitted.
Are implants and staplers inside the package?
Where the code needs them, yes. A stapler for a bowel join or a mesh for a repair is part of the operation and is the hospital's cost. Specialised implants outside what the code allows can need a separate approval. If you are asked to buy one, ask the desk whether the trust has been asked first.
The hospital gave a list of things to buy from the pharmacy. Is that right?
Not for items inside the package during the stay. Ask the desk for the reason in writing. Some items genuinely fall outside, such as a nutritional supplement not in the code. If the answer is unclear, the scheme's helpline takes complaints against network hospitals and looks into them.
Does the follow-up period cover a problem with the wound?
Usually yes, at the same hospital, for the period written against the code. Dressings, a wound check and the medicines for it are inside. A new problem unrelated to the operation is a fresh case with its own approval. Go back to the hospital that did the operation rather than a local clinic.
Can we transfer to another network hospital mid-treatment?
A package belongs to the hospital that was approved for it, so the follow-up runs there. For a later package, such as chemotherapy, you can register at a different network hospital with a fresh approval. Carry the discharge summary and the pathology report, because the new hospital will need them.
Does the annual family limit reset?
The limit runs per family per year, and it starts again with each new year of the scheme. If a long treatment plan is likely to cross it, the desk can see how much has been used and help you plan the order of packages. Ask early, not when the next approval is refused.
Does CION handle Aarogyasri packages?
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS and EHS are accepted, and most cashless insurers are empanelled. Call the helpline with the card number and the diagnosis, and the desk will check the family's eligibility, identify the likely code and tell you what to bring so the approval can start.
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
Meet the Specialists
17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
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
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
Surgical Oncologist
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Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. A surgical consultation can be booked at any of these centres through one helpline, and your team will tell you where the operation itself takes place.
Warangal
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Surgery to treat cancer
- American Cancer Society — Financial and insurance matters
- Cancer Research UK — Surgery for cancer
- Tata Memorial Centre — Tata Memorial Centre
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
Cancer Surgery Under AarogyasriWho is eligible and how the route worksWhat Is Included in a Surgery Package?How a private hospital package differs from a scheme packageImplants, Staplers and Consumables: The Hidden Line ItemsThe items most often argued overCancer Surgery Under Ayushman BharatThe national scheme run alongside AarogyasriCost, Insurance and Schemes for Cancer SurgeryEvery page on paying for an operation
Talk to us
Want to know which package your operation falls under?
Tell us the card number and the diagnosis. The scheme desk will check eligibility, identify the likely code and tell you what to bring. One helpline serves every CION centre.