The National Health Authority (NHA) today concluded the NHCX Innovation Meet at IIT Hyderabad, which brought together regulators, state governments, industry leaders, technology innovators, and academic institutions to advance the adoption of interoperable, standards-aligned health claims solutions under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

The two-day event conducted over 6th and 7th March 2026 also marks the Grand Finale of the NHCX Hackathon, conducted from 22nd February to 28th February 2026, where winning teams presented their solutions before a distinguished gathering.

The National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) is one of the three gateways under ABDM, built to simplify and standardise health insurance claims processing across the country. It provides a unified digital infrastructure for seamless exchange of claims data among hospitals, insurance companies, and patients. The hackathon was organised in collaboration with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), General Insurance Council (GIC), National Resource Centre for EHR Standards (NRCeS), Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), IIT Hyderabad, Google, India Insurtech Association (IIA), and NATHealth., reflecting a collaborative approach towards simplifying the claims journey across the ecosystem.

(L-R) Prof. G. Narahari Sastry, Dean, IIT Hyderabad; Sh. Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh; Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority; Dr. Girdhar Gyani, Director General, Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) & Sh. Kiran Gopal Vaska, JS&MD ABDM, National Health Authority.

The second day of the NHCX Innovation Meet commenced with the inaugural session graced by Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority, Sh. Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh; Dr. Girdhar Gyani, Director General, Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI); and Prof. G. Narahari Sastry, Dean, IIT Hyderabad among other esteemed guests and industry and academia partners.

In his address, Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, NHA, highlighted the complexity of health claims as one of the most persistent pain points in India's health insurance ecosystem, and underscored the role of NHCX in bringing standardisation and interoperability to a process that affects millions of citizens.

“The National Health Claims Exchange is not limited to hospitals and insurance companies alone; it is a platform designed to serve the entire healthcare ecosystem, including patients, healthcare providers, insurers, and technology innovators. The long-term vision for NHCX is similar to digital public infrastructure like UPI, where people may not know the underlying institution running the system, but they trust the platform because it works seamlessly and reliably for them.”

- Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority

Across the inaugural addresses, dignitaries converged on a common message that digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and data-driven systems are central to strengthening claims processing and improving the quality of care delivered at scale.

“In Andhra Pradesh, we believe strongly in the power of building these foundational blocks of digital public infrastructure. The state has taken an all-out approach to creating ABHA numbers for the entire population and is taking this mission very seriously. This reflects our commitment to strengthening digital public infrastructure and ensuring that every citizen becomes part of the digital health ecosystem.”

- Sh. Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh

More than 110 solutions were submitted and evaluated by an independent expert jury comprising representatives from IIT Hyderabad, NRCeS, GIC, Google, IIA, NATHealth, and NHA. The winners of the Hackathon were felicitated during the event, recognising the innovative solutions developed to address key challenges in health insurance claims.

On the occasion, NHA also launched three partnerships aimed at deepening collaboration and acknowledging partner contributions to ABDM adoption across the country. NHCX Champions recognises organisations that have played a dedicated role in operationalising and scaling NHCX across the payer and provider ecosystem. ABDM Ambassadors acknowledges organisations and professional bodies that have actively built awareness of ABDM within their networks, extending the programme's reach beyond what government channels alone can achieve. NHCX-PMJAY Early Integrators felicitates organisations that have successfully built modules enabling PM-JAY claims to be submitted through NHCX thereby bringing the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme onto a standardised, interoperable claims exchange. The first cohort of awardees across all three initiatives were announced at the Innovation Meet.

   

The Innovation Meet features a series of panel discussions bringing together voices from government, regulation, industry, and technology. Day 1 took up the technical and operational dimensions of the claims challenge with sessions on standardisation in claims settlement and on transforming the health insurance value chain through AI and technology. Day 2 focused on questions of scale and adoption and examined the future of claims processing and the specific barriers and enablers for hospital adoption of NHCX.

The two-day event was concluded by Sh. Kiran Gopal Vaska, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (ABDM), NHA, who presented a synthesis of the deliberations across both days, which was then followed by the valedictory address delivered by Sh. Ajay Seth, Chairman, IRDAI. Through the combination of ecosystem-driven innovation, high-level policy dialogue, and recognition of partners driving NHCX adoption on the ground, the Innovation Meet is expected to generate significant momentum towards a digitally-first, interoperable health claims ecosystem in India.

 

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