Three-member committee to look into overcharging for Covid-19 treatment

A three-member committee was constituted by the district administration on Wednesday to address complaints of inflated bills by private hospitals for Covid-19 treatment

A three-member committee was constituted by the district administration on Wednesday to address complaints of inflated bills by private hospitals for Covid-19 treatment.

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“Based on the directives issued by the state government, a committee has been constituted to look into grievances related to overcharging by private hospitals against the treatment cost fixed by the state. The deliberations on the complaints will be done weekly or more frequently, if required, considering the number of complaints received in a day,” said Siddharth Dahinya, city magistrate, who is the chairman of the committee.

The other members of the committee are Dr Anuj Garg of the district health department and Dr MP Jain of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

According to Dahiya, only after the deliberation on every case will a recommendation be submitted to the state government that will take action against hospitals.

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 isolation bed, including supportive care and oxygen; ₹15,000 for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed without ventilator and ₹18,000 for ICU with ventilator.

The rates for non-NABH accredited hospitals were fixed at ₹8,000, ₹13,000 and ₹15,000 respectively, for the three categories.

However, many have complained that the treatment cost in ICU went over ₹50,000, while more than ₹20,000 was charged per day for general ward.

According to the statement issued by the district administration, people can submit their complaints at the Sector 31 polyclinic, health department office in Sector 39 and city magistrate’s office in Mini Secretariat. People can email their complaints to atctmgrg@hry.nic.in.