Telangana orders inquiry into dialysis payment irregularities
HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has taken up an inquiry into allegations of irregular payments in its public dialysis programme, where centres operating inside government hospitals are reportedly billing higher rates than private hospitals under the same scheme.
Government dialysis centres under scrutiny for higher billing
Officials said the government provides land, water and electricity free of cost to these centres. Despite this, several centres have been charging higher rates than private facilities and claiming the amount from the state, leading to losses to the treasury.
Allegations point to the influence of private dialysis service agencies and the involvement of some senior officials in the earlier administration, including those linked to the Aarogyasri health scheme.
The government is considering a full-scale inquiry and a possible revision of dialysis rates, sources said.
Rates increased sharply after 2022 tenders
Dialysis centres were set up across united Andhra Pradesh under a public–private partnership model. The Aarogyasri Trust oversees billing, monitoring, auditing and tendering.
The number of centres expanded during the previous government’s term, reaching 102 centres statewide, of which 98 are currently operational. All are housed inside government hospitals and receive free utilities, while private agencies manage equipment and operations.
The government now pays ₹1,820 per dialysis session at PPP centres. In contrast, private hospitals providing the same service under Aarogyasri receive ₹1,350 per session, despite bearing their own utility costs. Both use single-use dialysers, yet the price gap remains significant.
Until October 2022, the rate was ₹1,375 per session.
Three-cluster model led to steep rate hike
Between 2009 and 2016, the charge for a multi-use dialyser was ₹1,250. Rates gradually increased thereafter. One company handled statewide services from 2017 to 2022.
Later, the network was divided into three clusters:
• Gandhi Hospital cluster: 28 centres
• NIMS cluster: 43 centres
• Osmania cluster: 27 centres
Each cluster was handed to a different agency. The previous government paid ₹1,375 per session in the first cluster and ₹1,415 in the other two.
When the contract ended in 2022, fresh tenders were floated and three companies won the bids. Rates rose sharply:
• Cluster 1: ₹1,820 per session
• Cluster 3: ₹1,820 per session
• Cluster 2: ₹1,794 per session
Allegations surfaced that corporate dialysis agencies and senior health officials colluded to push up the rates. Payments to private hospitals under Aarogyasri, however, remained unchanged at ₹1,350.
Costs surge to ₹560 crore in three years
Across the three clusters, 845 dialysis machines are in service. Seven centres run five shifts, 41 run four shifts and 50 run between two and three shifts.
According to Aarogyasri data, 6,706 patients undergo dialysis at government centres:
• Cluster 1: 1,806 patients
• Cluster 2: 3,104
• Cluster 3: 1,796
Including private hospitals, the total rises to 11,893 patients, with an average of 94,753 dialysis sessions every month.
Since Telangana’s formation, the state has spent ₹1,178 crore on dialysis services, nearly half of which — ₹560 crore — was incurred in the past three years alone. Officials attribute this surge to the steep rate revisions.
The government is now examining the matter and is likely to revise the rates downward, according to officials.
