Method and sources.
Where these numbers come from, how a rate is selected, and what the comparison can and cannot prove.
What this tool does
Overcharged is a reference tool, not a verdict. It lets you look up the official CGHS rate for a procedure in your city tier, then compare that number with what a hospital billed you. It does not negotiate, audit, or adjudicate a bill. It does not accuse a named hospital or doctor, and it has no connection to any hospital or government office.
CGHS covers central government employees, pensioners, Members of Parliament, and other eligible groups.
The dataset
The 2025 schedule lists 2,594 entries across 71 specialities. 2,460 have a standalone rate. The remaining 134 are implants, consumables, add-ons, or ward charges with no single fixed price.
Procedures are listed as package rates. Investigations and consultations are per-test or per-visit rates.
How a rate is chosen
A CGHS rate is not one number per procedure. The schedule varies by three dimensions. The lookup uses the published value for the combination, rounded to the nearest rupee, not an estimate.
City tier
Every CGHS city is classified as Tier X, Tier Y, or Tier Z. Tier X is the full schedule. Tier Y is generally about 10% lower and Tier Z about 20% lower, but individual entries can differ, so the table always uses the published value for the selected city. The X, Y, and Z lists follow the CGHS OM dated 3 October 2025 and the Department of Expenditure HRA classification of 7 July 2017. Y rates also apply across the North-East region and Jammu & Kashmir. If your city is not in the directory, use its tier: the tier is what changes the rate, not the city name.
Hospital accreditation
NABH accredited hospitals, non-NABH hospitals, and super speciality hospitals have separate columns in the schedule. Some super speciality rates are higher than NABH, some are the same, and a few categories are independently listed. The comparison shows all three where published.
Ward entitlement
General, semi-private, and private wards can carry different rates. Many procedures have the same rate in every ward. Applying a flat plus or minus 5% to every procedure would produce a wrong number for most of the schedule. This build reads the published ward value for each entry, rounded to the nearest rupee.
| Term | Meaning in this tool |
|---|---|
| Tier X, Y, Z | CGHS city classification. X is the full schedule. |
| NABH | Hospital accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals. |
| Non-NABH | A CGHS empanelled hospital without NABH accreditation. |
| Super speciality | A separately listed rate for super speciality hospitals. |
| Flat rate | The same rate in every CGHS city, for example blood components. |
| No standalone rate | An implant, consumable, add-on, or ward charge priced per item or per day. |
What the comparison can and cannot prove
- It can show that a bill is above the published rate for a specific combination of city, hospital type, and ward.
- It cannot show that a hospital broke a law. CGHS rates are reference rates for scheme beneficiaries, not a universal price cap.
- It cannot account for implants, consumables, room upgrades, or package pricing that sits outside the schedule.
- It is city level, not hospital level. Individual hospitals may have their own agreements with CGHS.
- The directory covers 126 places: all 8 Tier X cities, all 88 cities in the official Y list, nine more North-East cities under the Y-region rule, three NCR locations mapped to their parent cities, and 18 Tier Z cities. Other Z cities follow the same tier rules.
- The rate schedule can be revised. Always confirm the current rate before relying on a comparison in a complaint or negotiation.
Why the Supreme Court reference appears
In February 2024, the Supreme Court urged the Centre to consider standardising hospital charges or implementing CGHS rates universally. That order is background for the public debate, not a legal basis for treating these rates as binding on private hospitals.