Work with pvt sector to reach reasonable COVID management rates: Centre to states

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 15

The Centre today asked states to rope in private sector to arrive at mutually agreeable reasonable rates for providing COVID management to patients.

Amid evidence of overarching by private facilities, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has urged state counterparts to look potential costs for private hospitals, including PPE cost for health care providers, to finalise a COVID management package.

To do so the Centre has suggested states may consult Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogaya Yojana and CGHS package rates.

“The PMJAY and CGHS rates are fixed area wise.

In order to ensure that patients receive prompt, good quality and care at reasonable rates, it has been suggested to states to have consultations with the local private healthcare providers and arrive at reasonable rates, while factoring in cost elements for personal safety equipment for healthcare providers. It has been suggested that the rates, once fixed, must be widely publicised so that both the patients and service providers are fully aware and capacities are used optimally. States have also been asked to proactively engage with the private sector health providers and consider pooling in public and private healthcare facilities, as this will help in providing prompt, good quality and reasonable health care to COVID-19 patients,” a ministry statement said.