Fri Jan 31 10:40:11 IST 2025: ## Karnataka Expands Ayushman Bharat Coverage to Include Guillain-Barré Syndrome Treatment
**Bengaluru, January 31, 2025** – The Karnataka government has announced the inclusion of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy for Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) under its Ayushman Bharat – Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) health scheme. This follows a recent GBS outbreak in Pune.
The decision, detailed in a government order, allocates ₹10 crore annually for IVIG treatment as an add-on procedure under the AB-ArK benefit package. The Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST), the scheme’s implementing agency, will determine the specific rates for this new code, subject to expert committee approval and guidelines from the 2022 Health Benefit Package (HBP).
In related news, the government also ordered the removal of certain procedure codes from use in public health institutions. Episiotomy (2A.S4.00073) is blocked for all Public Health Institutions (PHIs), while Pyrexia of unknown origin (2A.M1.00036) and diarrhoea (2A.M2.00028) are removed from use in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs).
First Piper 