Shares of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd rose nearly 2% on Monday, trading at Rs 7,550, up 1.35% or Rs 100.50 on the NSE at 9:07 AM. The gains came after the government announced a major overhaul of the Central Government Health Services (CGHS) scheme — the first since 2014 — which is expected to benefit large private hospital chains.
The revamped CGHS structure, effective from October 13, introduces a new, multi-dimensional rate system for nearly 2,000 medical procedures. The rates will vary based on four parameters: hospital accreditation, type, city classification, and ward entitlement. NABH-accredited hospitals will serve as the base rate, while non-accredited ones will be paid 15% less. Additionally, tier-2 and tier-3 city rates will be 10–20% lower than those in tier-1 cities.
Earlier, many hospitals had refused cashless treatment for CGHS beneficiaries due to outdated package rates that failed to reflect medical inflation since 2014. The new structure aims to address that issue and improve cash flow for healthcare providers.
According to DAM Capital, a preliminary review suggests an average rate hike of 25–30% across key medical procedures. Listed players such as Fortis Healthcare, Max Healthcare, Narayana Health, and Yatharth Hospitals are expected to benefit the most due to higher exposure to CGHS. Apollo Hospitals, which has around 9% exposure, is also likely to see a positive impact.
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