BENGALURU: CT and MRI services in several government hospitals in Karnataka faced disruption after a private diagnostic provider suspended operations, citing pending dues of Rs 143 crore since 2019.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the government would release payments only after proper verification, stressing that public funds cannot be disbursed without scan-wise validation.
Addressing a press conference at Vidhana Soudha on Friday, the minister rejected opposition claims that the health department is paralysed. He said the state is continuing to finance all health schemes from its own resources despite delayed National Health Mission (NHM) funds from the Centre.
The disruption impacted 13 government hospitals operating under the public- private partnership (PPP) model. Rao said alternative arrangements have been made in most of these facilities, with patients being referred to medical college hospitals, empanelled private centres and nearby diagnostic facilities. He assured that the remaining hospitals would have backup systems in place shortly and that scans would be provided free of cost to eligible patients.
The minister said the government introduced stricter guidelines after noticing unusually high scan volumes. Measures such as mandatory doctor certification and standardised scan protocols reduced CT scan expenditure by 76% and MRI costs by 64%, resulting in estimated savings of Rs 18 crore per month and over Rs 200 crore in the past 18 months.
He said that earlier billing lacked proper regulation, leading to excessive payments.