Private ambulance services in Karnataka to come under KPME Act; govt to regulate fares

Bengaluru: After news reports revealed that private ambulances were charging a hefty price to move patients, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced that the government is planning to bring private ambulance services under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act.

Once the services fall under the KPME Act, the government can set quality standards and take actions to regulate the fare.

Rao, in a post on X, said that the government had to formulate such laws since there were irregularities in the system and such irregularities cause inconvenience to the public.

While acknowledging that the private sector was playing a crucial role in providing quality healthcare in the state, he also urged them to act with a service-oriented mindset rather than seeing the sector only as a business.

The statement came after news reports surfaced that a private ambulance service had demanded as much as Rs 8,500 to move a patient from Goraguntepalya to Victoria Hospital.