The petitioners argued that the October 1 Food Safety and Drug Administration circular was unconstitutional and illegal. (Image generated using AI)

The Karnataka government on Friday informed the High Court it will not insist on compliance with a circular requiring hospitals to disclose the “landing/base price” of medicines, medical devices and consumables in patient bills from November 1.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) issued the circular on October 1 to bring transparency to the hospital billing system and help patients understand the actual cost of medicines and medical supplies.

The government said it wants to re-examine the circular and assured the court it would not insist on compliance until the next hearing date.

In an interim order, Justice C M Poonacha observed that the government was in the process of re-examining the circular and directed that its implementation not be insisted upon until the next date of hearing.…