Health Insurance & AYUSH OPD: What's Covered?

• Health insurance coverage for alternative treatments like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, and Acupuncture, especially for Outpatient Department (OPD) services, is a common query among policyholders.
• IRDAI mandates health insurance policies to cover AYUSH treatments (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy), but this is generally limited to in-patient hospitalization at government-recognized or accredited AYUSH facilities.
• Standard health insurance plans typically do not cover OPD consultations for alternative treatments, as most products focus on hospitalization expenses.
• Acupuncture or naturopathy may be covered only if they are part of a recognized AYUSH therapy requiring hospitalization at an eligible facility; OPD-based sessions are usually excluded.
• Aditya Birla Health Insurance's Health Meter+ offers a rare exception, extending OPD coverage for select AYUSH treatments, highlighting a gap in industry-wide offerings.

Why It Matters: AYUSH hospitalization is mandated, but OPD coverage for alternative treatments is rare; check policy details carefully.