BENGALURU: In a bid to expand access to advanced orthopaedic care in public hospitals, the state government has announced that 100% of the cost of Total Knee Replacement (TKR) and Total Hip Replacement (THR) surgeries will now be reimbursed under the AB-PMJAY-CM’s Arogya Karnataka (ArK) scheme. Public health institutions (PHIs) will receive the entire package cost — Rs 65,000 for TKR and Rs 1 lakh for THR, an increase from the earlier 75% reimbursement rate.
Until now, the state reimbursed only three-fourths of the total surgery cost, which often left hospitals struggling to manage implant expenses and surgical logistics.
A key component of the policy is the mentor surgeon model, which pairs experienced orthopaedic surgeons from private or government institutions with PHIs that have infrastructure, but lack surgical expertise. Under this, mentor surgeons visit government hospitals to train local teams through hands-on procedures.
The new order also promises higher financial incentives to these mentor surgeons, depending on the hospital’s level and the type of surgery performed.
Private mentor surgeons will receive incentives calculated on the full package cost, while government or autonomous institution surgeons acting as mentors will be paid based on 75% of the procedure cost.