CGHS · DGEHS · ECHS · ESIC · Ayushman Bharat · insurance
Physiotherapy and health schemes
Which scheme pays for physiotherapy, how each one is accessed, and the questions worth asking before you book anywhere in Delhi.
Quick answer
Most physiotherapy under a government health scheme in Delhi is accessed on referral, at a facility empanelled for that scheme, rather than at a standalone physiotherapy clinic — very few of which are empanelled for anything. Private health insurance works differently again: outpatient physiotherapy is usually excluded, while physiotherapy connected to a hospital admission is often payable. The right question is not whether a clinic takes your card, but how your particular scheme routes you.
The schemes, and how each one works
Serving and retired central government employees and their dependants. Access begins at a CGHS Wellness Centre.
How CGHS works for physiotherapyDelhi government employees and pensioners. Runs closely alongside CGHS and uses much of the same empanelled network.
How DGEHS works for physiotherapyEx-servicemen pensioners and their dependants. Access begins at an ECHS Polyclinic.
How ECHS works for physiotherapyInsured workers earning under the wage ceiling, and their families. Access begins at an ESI dispensary.
How ESIC works for physiotherapyEligible families under PM-JAY. Cashless at empanelled hospitals, and built around inpatient packages.
How Ayushman Bharat works for physiotherapyPrivate policies and TPAs. Outpatient physiotherapy is usually excluded; physiotherapy around a hospital stay often is not.
How Health insurance works for physiotherapyServing and retired CAPF personnel and their dependants. The referral route is similar in shape to CGHS.
The route is close to CGHS in shape. Ask us and we will tell you what applies.
How it works in practice, whichever scheme you hold
There is a pattern underneath all of these, and it catches people out. Physiotherapy under a scheme is arranged by the hospital, not by the physiotherapy unit inside it. You arrive either on an internal referral from one of that hospital’s own doctors, or with an outside referral that its reception desk processes before anything else happens. The physiotherapy team is then told a scheme patient is booked in, and on what basis.
So the order matters. Booking a physiotherapy appointment directly — online, or by ringing a clinic — books you as a private patient, whatever card you are holding. If you intend to use a scheme, the desk comes first. It is the single most common and most expensive mistake in all of this.
What to ask before you book anywhere
These five questions settle almost every dispute that happens afterwards, and all of them can be answered before you travel. They apply wherever you go, not only to us.
- Does this facility accept my scheme by name? Not a similar one. CGHS and DGEHS are different schemes that share a network, and staff use the names loosely.
- Do I need a referral, and who issues it? A Wellness Centre, a Polyclinic, a dispensary — it differs by scheme, and arriving without one usually means paying privately.
- How many sessions does it cover? Physiotherapy is a course. A referral that runs out in week three is the usual source of an unexpected bill.
- Cashless, or do I pay and claim? The answer changes what you need on the day.
- What will I owe if it is not fully covered? Ask for the figure before the first session, not after the last.
Where we fit
Our physiotherapy units sit inside hospitals, and any empanelment belongs to the hospital rather than to us. So the honest answer to "do you take my scheme" is that it depends on the centre, and we would rather find out than guess. Tell us what you hold and where you are.
We work in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri.
Last checked October 2026. Scheme rules change, and these pages describe how the schemes generally work rather than your own entitlement.
- Assessment before every plan
- 34 qualified therapists
- 52,959 sessions in the last year
- Centre & home visits