HC directs state govt to reimburse cost of treatment availed at hospital outside Kerala

Kochi: High court has directed the state govt to reimburse the treatment expenses incurred by a govt-school teacher for his daughter's rare disease — Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (Type 6) — treated at a non-empanelled hospital in Coimbatore, as the required treatment was not available in Kerala, within six weeks.The bench of Justice Harisankar V Menon issued the order while considering a petition filed by the teacher from Palakkad district challenging the state govt's refusal to reimburse his daughter's treatment expenses. HC opined that the petitioner's request for reimbursement ought to have been considered sympathetically, particularly since no facility for the required treatment was available within the state, or even in govt hospitals in Kerala.The petitioner's daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, following which he sought prior approval from the state govt for financial aid for her treatment, pointing out that treatment facilities for the disease were not available in Kerala. Without waiting for a govt response, the petitioner proceeded with his daughter's treatment. In 2017, he submitted another application stating that the treatment was being carried out at a hospital in Coimbatore. However, in Oct 2020, the state govt rejected the applications on the grounds that the treatment was not undertaken at an empanelled hospital, citing a circular reflecting the govt's decision not to provide reimbursement for treatment carried out in private hospitals. A subsequent application filed by the petitioner in 2022 was also rejected on the same grounds, prompting him to move HC.HC took note of a certificate issued by the Palakkad district medical officer, stating that facilities for treating the aforesaid disease were not locally available. HC observed that the petitioner, being a father, could not be faulted for seeking treatment for his daughter at a hospital in Coimbatore and accordingly directed the state govt to reimburse the treatment expenses.