Private hospitals fleecing Covid patients, complaints pour in Chandigarh

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 19

Eight complaints have been filed against private hospitals by attendants of Covid patients on the helpline started by the UT Administration.

Private healthcare facilities have been accused of charging extra for oxygen, medicines and tests even as these are inclusive of the package notified by the UT Administration on April 24.

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A majority of the complaints have been filed against Eden Hospital, Industrial Area.

“As per the complaints, Eden Hospital has been charging Rs9,600 extra per day for oxygen. Attendants had arranged oxygen cylinders from outside but still the patients were charged for oxygen,” said Dr Charu Singla, nodal officer to keep check on the charges levied by private hospitals on Covid patients.

During inspection visits to private hospitals in the city by a team of UT health officials on Monday, the records of bills and rates charged from Covid patients were checked. “We checked the records of private hospitals and found various anomalies in the charges. We have asked them to refund the excess money taken from all patients. We are deliberating legal ways to pursue this matter as well,” said Dr Singla.

Eden Hospital procured remdesivir for Rs1,300 from the UT Administration and charged Rs4,000 for the same drug from patients.

Dr Singla said Chandigarh City Hospital had fixed Rs20,000 per day as charges for very severe Covid patients, whereas the rate fixed by the government was Rs16,500 per day. Attendants also complained that the hospitals even charged over and above the structure fixed by them. It has also been found that some hospitals were asking for Rs50,000 in advance as the minimum ICU admission fee.

The rates issued by the UT Administration for private hospital beds are inclusive as a package, which include cost of medical care of underlying comorbid conditions such as supportive care (oxygen) and cost of medication for the duration of the Covid treatment. As many Covid patients have conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular problems, the charges for medical care of such comorbidities are part of the package.

The package fixed by the UT Administration also includes doctor’s consultation fee and investigation charges, including imaging. Drugs such as remdesivir and tocilizumab are not part of the package.

Dr Sanjay Bansal of Eden Hospital said, “We are able to procure oxygen from private vendors at a very high rate, between Rs800 and Rs1,000. The package is not feasible if out of Rs16,500, we spend Rs5,000-Rs6,000 on oxygen. We have to recover the cost as well.”

Meanwhile, the UT Health Department has given private hospitals two days to display rates on the premises so that these are visible to patients’ families. The Health Department also directed hospitals to initiate the process of refund to patients who were charge extra.

In a representation to the Director, Health Services, UT, private hospitals stated that critical Covid-19 patients, who are on high oxygen support, consume six-seven cylinders of oxygen a day, which comes to around Rs5,000. “The rate given by the government, Rs14,000, is not enough. The rate of medical oxygen though has been fixed at Rs295 plus GST for D-type cylinder, hospitals are getting cylinders for Rs600 to Rs1,000,” read the letter.