It was intimated by Karnataka health minister Mr. K Sudhakar that 577 private hospitals were issued notices for taking money from the government and charging the patients for COVID treatment. A probe has been ordered into patient complaints against hospitals. The hospitals have been found to have earned Rs 18.8 crore by charging the patient as well as claiming money from the government. 

Notices have been served to all the hospitals and till date, Rs. 15 crores have been repaid by the hospitals to 403 families of COVID-19 patients. The Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka scheme was initially devised to assist the families of COVID 19 patients. As per the scheme, the expenses for the treatment of the patient were borne by Suvarna Arogya Surakshana trust. However, the government has now discovered that some hospitals charged fees from patients as well as from the trust. 

The president of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, Dr. Prasanna HM said, “the number of discrepancies in bills are small compared to the number of patients treated for COVID by hospitals. There were nearly 2.5 lakh patients treated. There may be some discrepancies or errors. Some may have been discrepancies and we don’t know if some people have done it purposefully.”