Karnataka high court: Hospital name change can’t be grounds to deny reimbursement

BENGALURU: Karnataka HC’s Dharwad bench slammed state government for using bureaucratic red tape to deny medical reimbursement, ruling that an associate professor’s claim of nearly Rs 14 lakh could not be rejected simply because a hospital changed its name.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj called the denial “arbitrary and legally unsustainable” after authorities refused to reimburse Shivanandappa Doddagoudar, associate professor at a government first-grade college in Haveri’s Ranebennur. His treatment at Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Manipal, was rejected on grounds that the institution later updated its name to Kasturba Hospital, Manipal.

Doddagoudar said the hospital was on govt’s approved list under Karnataka Government Servants (Medical Attendance) Rules, 1963. The hospital formally sought a name correction in March 2021. Despite the request, officials failed to update the recognised list and rejected reimbursement claims.

The state higher education department and Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust had contended that only hospitals listed under their exact names could qualify and any deviation was unacceptable.

Justice Govindaraj disagreed, saying the hospital had already been vetted and approved: “Mere change of nomenclature did not alter the hospital’s identity or services.” The court has directed higher education department to reconsider the reimbursement claim within six weeks.
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