Karnataka Govt Plans to Fix Fee for Medical Treatments in Private Hospitals

Bengaluru: In an attempt to regulate fee for medical treatment and others at private hospitals in Karnataka, state health minister KR Ramesh Kumar tabled Karnataka Private Medical Institutions Amendment Bill 2017 on Tuesday in the state assembly session.

According to the proposed bill, the private hospitals should charge the fee for medical treatments as fixed by the government and if any of the private hospital in the state fails to do so, then a penalty between Rs 25,000 and Rs 5 lakh will be collected along with a jail term starting from 6 months to 3 years.  

The health ministry will fix fee for various medical treatments and others as suggested by an expert committee formed by the government. The expert committee will also guide the government basic facilities to be provided to the patients, infrastructure of the hospitals and others, the minister said.

The proposed bill also facilitates the government to regulate, stop various treatment package service provided by the private hospitals in the state. Also, the private hospitals can’t force the patients for advance cash before admitting them for treatment.The hospitals are expected to be asked by the government to display a list of fee near the reception hall to be remitted by the patients for various types of medical treatments, exams and others, minister said.