To stop fleecing, government to conduct audit of private hospitals’ bills

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 23

Vinod Gupta, a Zirakpur resident, received a shock of his life after a private hospital in Mohali handed him a bill of Rs 14,00,807 for treating his Covid positive relative for 25 days. Though the insurance company is to pay Rs 10 lakh, the remaining bill is to be borne by the patient.

Plaints received

We have received complaints from Mohali, Bathinda, Zirakpur, Jalandhar and Patiala. I have asked the civil surgeons concerned to conduct audit of hospital bills. - Balbir Singh Sidhu, Health Minister

The hospital bill reveals that Rs 7.12 lakh has been charged for pharmacy, Rs 99,000 for doctors’ visits, Rs 84,000 for oxygen and Rs 77,994 for consumables. “The hospital has been trying to justify the bill, saying they are charging just Rs 7,500 per day as bed charges for the stay in ICU and respiratory intensive care unit (RICU). But there is no explanation for the high charges,” said Gupta.

His is not an isolated case. Across Punjab, especially in Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Bathinda, patients and their relatives are complaining of fleecing by private hospitals. In Ludhiana, a renowned businessman was forced to stay in the hospital even after he recovered. “We were harassed only because the hospital wanted to extract more money,” said his daughter.

The Punjab Government has capped the charges for Covid treatment. Patients needing isolation beds with supportive care and oxygen can be charged only Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per bed, those admitted in ICU Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 and those needing ventilator support are to be charged between Rs 15,000 and Rs 18,000.

To address the problem, Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said he would get the bills audited. 

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