Covid-19 treatment: At least 38 complaints of overcharging for treatment filed

A majority of the overcharging complaints are against the smaller hospitals. A few of these complaints have been referred to the director, general health services, for clarification regarding the line of treatment and its cost mentioned in the bill, while other complaints are shared with a CA

The district administration has received at least 38 complaints in the past month and a half regarding overcharging by private hospitals for Covid-19 treatment. A charted accountant was appointed by the administration to check whether the hospitals complied with the treatment rates set by the Haryana government, officials said on Tuesday.

Cases peaked in April in Gurugram. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)

“A majority of the overcharging complaints are against the smaller hospitals. A few of these complaints have been referred to the director, general health services, for clarification regarding the line of treatment and its cost mentioned in the bill, while other complaints are shared with a charted accountant to check the amount charged by the hospital against the Covid-19 treatment cost fixed by the Haryana government,” said Surinder Dahiya, city magistrate.

Dahiya is the nodal officer for the committee that was constituted by the district administration on June 2 to address the complaints of exorbitant bills generated by private hospitals for the treatment for Covid-19 patients during the second Covid-19 wave in April and May.

On May 29, the Haryana government directed the deputy commissioners across the state to constitute a district-level committee to monitor the complaints. In the district, a three-member committee was constituted on June 2, comprising Dahiya, Dr Anuj Garg of the district health department and Dr MP Jain of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Dr Virender Yadav, the chief medical officer for Gurugram, said, “All complaints related to inflated bills are directly transferred to the district administration’s committee for investigation.”

According to an order issued on June 25, 2020, the state government fixed rates (per day) in hospitals accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare providers (NABH) at ₹10,000 for an isolation bed, including supportive care and oxygen; ₹15,000 for an intensive care unit (ICU) bed without a ventilator and ₹18,000 for an ICU bed with ventilator support. Likewise, rates in non-NABH accredited hospitals were fixed at ₹8000, ₹13,000 and ₹15,000, respectively, for the same services.

Officials, while fixing the rates, had said that the purpose behind the standardisation of rates was to eliminate disparity in charges across private hospitals.

During the surge in cases during the second wave, residents alleged that the treatment cost in ICU went above ₹50,000, while over ₹20,000 a day was charged for treatment in the general ward. The state government intervened after people directly reached out to the state administration.

“Action will be taken against the hospital concerned based on the final report submitted by the charted accountant,” said Dahiya, refusing to comment on the deadline given to submit the final report.