NHCX Newborn Claim (Parent Linking & Birth Certificate)

Overview

A newborn cannot hold its own insurance policy, so NHCX claims for a baby are filed under the card-holder parent's policy. This is handled in two parts:

1. Upload proof-of-birth documents (a discharge card or birth certificate) against the baby's record.
2. Link the parent by entering the parent's UHID during the eligibility check. The system then carries the parent's policy identity through the claim, and the baby is attached to the bundle as its own Patient entry.

Prerequisites

• The baby must already exist as a patient in the system (the claim is filed against the baby's record).
• The parent must also exist as a patient, and must be the card-holder whose policy covers the newborn.
• The parent must have a valid ABHA / PMJAY policy discoverable via Get Policies.
• The NHCX participant (provider) onboarding must be complete (see NHCX Participant ID Generation).

Part 1 — Upload proof-of-birth documents

Proof-of-birth is stored as a PDF DocumentReference against the baby's record, in one of two slots:

Where to upload:

• New Patient form — the Birth Certificate (Proof of Birth) section appears at the bottom of the patient registration form. You must save the patient first (the section needs the patient's saved record before a file can be attached).
• NHCX patient page — open the patient's NHCX page and expand the Birth Certificate (Proof of Birth) accordion.

In each slot, choose a PDF file. The file uploads immediately and shows "Saved successfully". Uploading a new file for the same slot replaces the previous document of that type.

Part 2 — Link the parent in the workflow accordion

1. Open the patient's NHCX page. For a baby 6 years old or younger, each workflow accordion shows a Newborn (Baby of Parent) block. (The block is hidden when the patient's date of birth is missing or the patient is older than 6.)
2. Enter the parent's UHID in the Parent UHID (card-holder) field — the parent's local patient number (MRN) — and click Link parent.
3. The system resolves the parent immediately and shows Linked to {parent name} (UHID …), with an Edit option to change it.

When a parent is linked, the system:

• Stores the resolved parent against the workflow (a PARENT_LINK record), so the parent's name shows instantly and later steps reuse the already-resolved parent instead of re-resolving it.
• Sets the coverage beneficiary to the parent's patient ID (so the parent's member/subscriber ID is used).
• Sets the primary Patient entry's name, mobile, gender, and birth date from the parent.
• Adds a link (refer) from the parent to the baby, and emits the baby as its own Patient entry named Baby of <parent name>.

Part 3 — Submit the claim

When you submit the claim for the newborn, the parent relation set at eligibility time is carried forward automatically. The claim bundle:

• Uses the parent's policy identity as the beneficiary.
• Includes the baby as a separate Patient entry.
• Inlines the uploaded proof-of-birth PDFs as supportingInfo (category DOB) so the payer receives them with the claim.

Common Issues

• "Parent patient not found for the given UHID" — the entered UHID does not match any patient in this organization. Check the parent's local patient number.
• "Parent date of birth is required" — the linked parent has no date of birth recorded. Add the parent's date of birth to their patient record, then link again.
• "Parent must be over 6 years old" — the linked parent is 6 years old or younger. Link an adult card-holder parent instead.
• "Child must be 6 years or younger to be linked to a parent" — the patient whose claim you are filing is older than 6, so it cannot be attached to a parent's policy. File the claim under the patient's own identity.
• "Child date of birth is required" — the patient has no date of birth recorded. Add it to the patient record, then link again.
• Birth certificate section says to save the patient first — this appears on the New Patient form when the record has not been saved yet. Save the patient, then upload the document.
• Uploaded the wrong document type — re-upload a new PDF for the same slot; it replaces the previous one.

FAQ

Q: Do I need a separate policy for the newborn? A: No. Newborn claims ride on the card-holder parent's policy. Link the parent in the workflow accordion and the parent's member/subscriber ID is used.

Q: Is linking a parent required for every claim? A: No. It is optional, and only offered when the patient is 6 years old or younger. Leave it unlinked for non-newborn claims; the baby's own identity is used as normal.

Q: What is the difference between DCB and BCF? A: DCB is the discharge card/slip issued by a government hospital at birth. BCF is the official birth certificate from the Registrar of Birth or a notified local body (Municipal Corporation, Taluk, Tehsil).

Q: Can I upload proof-of-birth after the claim is filed? A: Upload the documents before submitting the claim so they are inlined into the claim bundle. You can upload them at any time, but a claim already sent will not retroactively include them.