Hosps overcharged for Covid treatment: Survey – ET HealthWorld

Office-bearers of the NGOs — Corona Ekal Mahila Punarvasan Samiti and Jan Arogya Abhiyan — revealed the findings of their survey at a meeting of widows of those who had succumbed to the infection. The rapid survey through a Google form was conducted across 200 talukas in 34 districts of Maharashtra over a fortnight this month.

Dr Abhay Shukla, public health specialist associated with Jan Arogya Abhiyan, said the survey revealed that 121 patients (4.6%) of the sample size had taken treatment in government hospitals and the remaining 95.4% in private hospitals. While 49.8% patients recovered during the course of treatment, the remaining 50.2% succumbed. Of the total deaths in the survey, 1,059 patients were male.

Shukla said the government had issued guidelines to private hospitals about the daily treatment fee they could charge from hospitalized Covid patients. While the fee for isolation in private hospitals was Rs 4,000 per day, that for ICU treatment was Rs 7,500 and for ICU with ventilator support Rs 9,000.

Nonetheless, the survey found that the average daily charges that Covid patientis paid in private hospitals was Rs 21,215.

The people involved in the survey were mainly those requiring isolation for the infection but who were unable to stay at home as they needed to earn a daily livelihood.

Shukla said the survey was just the tip of an iceberg. He said there were many who faced a similar predicament. He demanded that the state health department immediately contact all those admitted to hospitals for Covid treatment and conduct an audit of all complaints regarding hospitals overcharging. He said the excess bill amounts should be refunded to the patients or their families.

A woman from Nashik who lost her husband to Covid fought back tears while narrating how she changed three hospitals for his treatment and paid up to Rs 20 lakh in bills for 55 days of hospitalisation. Her husband recovered from Covid but died of a heart attack later.

Another woman from Niphad said she too changed three hospitals in a month for her husband’s Covid treatment and incurred expenses up to Rs 25 lakh for hospitalisation and medication.

Herambh Kulkarni, president, Corona Ekal Mahila Punarvasan Samiti, and others also expressed their views.

Dr Sameer Chandratre, joint secretary, Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, said, “IMA has always been working keeping in mind the interest of citizens. If there is a difference between the rates charged by hospitals, the government should definitely intervene. However, it also needs to be noted that the government rates were applicable to 80% beds in private hospitals. These hospitals were allowed to charge their fees for patients taking up the remaining 20% beds. Most patients were not aware of this.”