Panchkula private hospitals under lens as complaints pour in

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 4

After complaints of overcharging Covid patients, Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja has issued six more notices to Paras Hospital, Sector 23, Alchemist Hospital, Sector 21, and Wings Hospital, Sector 25.

Bills not in line with govt-approved rates

Patients have been charged 42 per cent to even 345 per cent in excess of the legitimate bill that was to be calculated as per the Haryana Government instructions, dated June 25, 2020, vide which Covid treatment rates have been capped.

Hospitals that have been put on notice

One notice was issued to Wings Hospital, two to Paras Hospital and three to Alchemist Hospital.

Patients have been charged 42 per cent to even 345 per cent in excess of the legitimate bill that was to be calculated as per the Haryana Government instructions, dated June 25, 2020, vide which Covid treatment rates have been capped.

A district-level committee, which is monitoring Covid bills, under Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohd Imran Raza, had looked into the bills of the patients and after their reports, show-cause notices, dated June 3, were issued. On May 31 too, the Deputy Commissioner had issued five notices to Paras Hospital and Alchemist Hospital.

Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, who is the local MLA, has been pressing for action against hospitals and refund of the excess amount.

BB Singal, a member of the Haryana State Pharmacy Council and member of the Covid bill monitoring committee, said, “The next step is to analyse whether the amount of remdesivir and tocilizumab were charged from patients at government-approved rates. It is being observed that some hospitals have charged Rs50,000 to Rs60,000 per day irrespective of the severity of the disease, flouting all Covid instructions.”

Many cases of excess billing

In the case of Wings Hospital, a Covid patient, Arun Kumar, was issued a bill of Rs 80,132 for three days, from May 2 to May 4. After an analysis by the district-level committee, it was found that he was overcharged Rs 34,132, which is 74 per cent of the legitimate bill, which should have been Rs 46,000 in his case, said the show-cause notice.

Anju Aggarwal was admitted for nine days, from May 2 to May 10, at Alchemist Hospital for Covid. She was charged Rs 3.03 lakh, while the legitimate bill should have been Rs 2.13 lakh. The show-cause notice said she was overcharged Rs 90,177, which is 42 per cent of the legitimate bill.

In another case of Alchemist Hospital, a Covid patient, Ashok Bhandari, was issued a bill of Rs 3.07 lakh, dated April 19. He has been charged Rs 92,541 in excess, which is 43.2 per cent of the legitimate bill amount, said the show-cause notice.

Rajinder Kumar stayed at Alchemist Hospital for 24 days, from April 3 to April 27. He was issued a bill of Rs 7.04 lakh, after allowing a discount of Rs 11,520. The show-cause notice said as per the state government instructions, the bill should have been Rs 3.52 lakh. He has been overcharged Rs 3.51 lakh, which is 99 per cent of the legitimate bill, said the notice.

In the case of Paras Hospital, a patient, Mamta Rani, was issued a bill Rs 3.29 lakh. The legitimate bill should have been Rs 1.75 lakh as per the show-cause notice. She has been charged Rs 1.54 lakh in excess, which is 87.8 per cent of the legitimate bill amount, added the notice.

In another case of Paras Hospital, Kamla Devi was issued a bill of Rs 1.66 lakh, while the legitimate bill should have been Rs 37,250. She was hospitalised for two days only on May 8. The show-cause notice said she was charged Rs 1.29 lakh in excess, which was 345 per cent of the legitimate bill.

All three hospitals have to submit their replies within seven days regarding each case.

Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja could not be contacted for comments. Paras Hospital and Alchemist Hospital have issued statements earlier, denying the charges of overcharging.