Karnataka is considering a new law to enable legal action against private hospitals that withhold the bodies of dead patients over unpaid medical bills, state health minister U T Khader said on Monday. The proposed legislation aims to prevent hospitals from making payment a condition for handing over bodies.
Khader said the health department plans to consult hospital associations before finalising the proposed changes. “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. Hospitals should not withhold bodies to recover dues and make families suffer,” Khader said.
He said the government identified shortcomings in the rules introduced in 2007 and 2018 and wants to change the existing framework. “They have not been implemented properly. I want to ensure they are implemented fully. 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,” he said.
The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007, amended in 2018, requires private medical establishments to hand over a patient’s body immediately without insisting on prior payment of outstanding dues. Hospitals can pursue recovery of unpaid amounts through legal means.
Khader said the existing arrangement placed families under pressure to settle bills because they wanted to avoid court proceedings. He said the government was considering changes to prevent families from having to borrow money to secure the release of a relative’s body.
Shobha Prakash, president of a private hospitals’ association, said hospitals could face difficulties if they were required to hand over bodies without receiving payment for treatment and medicines provided in intensive care units. “We provide ICU treatment and medicines. It is difficult when we are asked to hand over the body without payment after the patient dies. The minister’s decision is right, but an alternative arrangement is needed. Private hospitals should be consulted on this,” Prakash said.
Khader said consultations with hospital associations and other stakeholders would form part of the process of framing the new legislation.