Karnataka Health Minister U.T. Khader has directed every private hospital in the state to display treatment rate cards prominently on its premises, saying the measure is mandatory under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act and is intended to improve transparency for patients.
Khader issued the direction during a meeting with the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association on Wednesday. He said hospitals must ensure that treatment charges are clearly visible to the public and that transparency must also extend to the prices of medicines purchased and supplied to patients.
The minister said the government was committed to bringing greater clarity to treatment and medicine costs in private hospitals. He added that any benefit from lower medicine procurement prices should reach patients directly.
“Many families admitted to hospitals for the treatment of their parents and relatives are today trapped in debt,” Khader said, according to Prajavani. He said he had come across cases in which families had sold property to pay hospital bills.
The minister also referred to the high cost of medicines used in cancer treatment. He said the Karnataka government had written to the Union government about the issue after patients were being charged large sums for cancer medicines. He further said the Supreme Court had expressed serious concern over the alleged practice of private hospitals charging excessive prices for medicines and exploiting patients.
According to Khader, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has approved a measure to cap the trade margin on cancer medicines that remain outside price control at 30% of the maximum retail price. He said the decision would significantly reduce the financial burden on cancer patients.
The state government is also examining whether medicines used in heart and kidney-related treatments are reaching patients at fair prices, the minister said. No further details about the scope, timeline or enforcement mechanism of this review were provided in the report.
Khader described private hospitals as an important part of Karnataka’s healthcare system and said healthcare should not be treated only as a business. He called for cooperation between the government and private hospitals to ensure that patients receive quality treatment at fair prices.
The meeting was attended by Dr Shobha Prakash, president of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, and other office-bearers. The minister’s direction places the immediate responsibility on private hospitals to make their treatment charges visible under the existing state law, while the government’s review of medicine pricing is expected to continue.
