Bengaluru, 12 October

The State Health Department is considering a new legislation that allows the government to register cases against private hospitals if they withhold handing over dead bodies to family members over unpaid bills, Health Minister UT Khader said. 

Khader told reporters on Sunday that it was a “joke” to not hand over bodies over money. 

“If someone dies in a private hospital, the family has to pay money to get the body. This places a financial burden on families already struggling and may not have the money,” Khader said. “If a private hospital refuses to hand over a body, what should the patient’s relatives do, and what action should follow? We need a new law to address this.”

Khader noted that similar rules were introduced in in 2007 and 2018, but ““They have not been implemented properly. I want to ensure they are implemented fully”.

Under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007, amended in 2018, hospitals must hand over dead bodies immediately, even if there is outstanding bills, and can recover that through legal means. 

Khader noted that this had caused problems for financially distressed families, as they had to take out loans to clear the bills. 

Khader said that the department will first hold a meeting with hospital associations before deciding on framing the rules. 

The government is also considering stricter requirements for medical billing, including asking hospitals to record complete details on medicine bills and improving transparency in the charges levied on patients and their families.

Khader’s comments come amid reports that several hospitals across Karnataka had refused to hand over dead bodies to relatives due to outstanding bills.