Kumari Palany & Co

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In Chennai, now many private hospitals overcharge COVID patients

Posted on: 12/Apr/2021 9:14:23 AM
Would you believe this!! A person admitted to a private hospital in Chennai received a bill amount Rs 6lakh for 10 days of stay in the hospital.

Not only the Covid-19 positive cases are increasing in Chennai but also the hospitalisation and treatment charges are also increasing now.

It is well known that last year the state health department took an important decision by capping the hospital charges. This is not followed by the hospitals now in Chennai. Many patients have complained about the exorbitant charges collected from them at the private hospitals. The department charges have been fixed in June 2020 by the department at the private hospitals.

It must be noted that under this the maximum charges that A1 and A2 hospitals could levy on the patients was Rs 7500. For A3 and A4 hospitals, it was Rs 5000. Point is that the intensive care unit charge has been fixed at Rs  15000. This is being violated in many private hospitals now.

According to a resident belonging to Alwarpet, his 90 year old father was affected by Covid-19 infection and he admitted his father in a private hospital first. The charges collected in that hospital for oxygen bed was too high per day and due to that he shifted his father to the government hospital. It is said that many private hospitals add extra charges also for the treatment of Covid-19 infection. Detailed summary of the bills are not being issued by the private hospitals now.

A Kolathur resident also complained that he had received a huge bill amount for treatment of Covid-19 infection at a private hospital. The Directorate of Medical Services or DMS has been monitoring the violations at the hospitals and strict action would be taken against the private hospitals. This was according to the officials belonging to the health department.