CMCHIS: Tamil Nadu's ₹25 Lakh Health Cover, Explained
The Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme raised its cover from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh per family per year — a genuinely large jump most families haven't caught up with yet. Here's who qualifies and how to actually enrol.
Does your parent's household likely qualify?
A quick starting point — the actual determination is made from the income certificate, not a self-declaration.
What CMCHIS Covers
CMCHIS provides cashless secondary and tertiary treatment at empanelled government and private hospitals across Tamil Nadu, covering the policyholder, spouse, children, and parents listed on the same family card. Two groups can qualify without the standard income test: persons with disabilities, and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in camps. It's converged with the central PM-JAY scheme, so the practical cover a specific family gets can draw on either scheme's rules depending on which one the family qualifies under.
How to Enrol
- Get an income certificate first from the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) or local revenue office — this is the document that actually decides eligibility, not a verbal declaration.
- Take the family/ration card (original + photocopy) and Aadhaar cards for every family member to the CMCHIS registration centre at the district collectorate.
- Be ready for verification — some family members may need to be present in person before the card is approved and issued.
- Once enrolled, manage the card online via the official CMCHIS website — useful for checking status or hospital lists remotely if you're coordinating from abroad.
How This Relates to Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY)
Tamil Nadu runs CMCHIS as a converged scheme alongside the central PM-JAY programme, sharing much of the same hospital network. In practice, the family's actual entitlement is worked out from whichever scheme's criteria apply — worth confirming directly at an empanelled hospital's help desk rather than assuming a fixed cover amount.
Separately, every Indian citizen aged 70 or above — regardless of income or CMCHIS status — qualifies for the central Ayushman Vay Vandana Card (free ₹5 lakh/year cover, no income test): see our full Ayushman Bharat guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does CMCHIS actually cover now?
CMCHIS cover was raised to ₹25 lakh per family per year, up from an earlier ₹5 lakh limit. This is on top of, not instead of, whatever a family separately qualifies for under Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY).
What income limit applies, and are there exceptions?
The standard cut-off is an annual family income up to ₹1.2 lakh, verified through an income certificate from the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) or revenue authorities. Two groups can qualify without that income test: persons with disabilities, and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in camps. A family already holding another health insurance policy is generally excluded.
How does my parent actually enrol?
Get an income certificate from the VAO first, then take it with the original family/ration card and Aadhaar cards for every family member to the CMCHIS registration centre at the district collectorate. Some family members may need to attend in person for verification before the card is issued.
What if my parent is 70 or older?
They separately qualify for the central Ayushman Vay Vandana Card — free ₹5 lakh cover, no income test — regardless of CMCHIS status or income. See our Ayushman Bharat guide for how to apply.
Where to Go Next
4 quick questions to see which scheme likely applies to your parent.
The central scheme every senior qualifies for, regardless of state.
A 5-question decision tool for the specific admission ahead of you.
Understand every line on the bill once your parent is admitted.
Back to the full list of guides for families living in India.