Centre puts cap on private hospital charges for COVID-19 patients, fixes testing rates

The central government has come up with a few measures aimed at reducing the COVID-19 burden on the general public. Read on to know more

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Updated: June 19, 2020 10:26 pm

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, private hospitals cannot overcharge COVID-19 patients for their hospitalization.

With COVID-19 cases surging alarmingly, there have recently been allegations about mismanagement of the situation including overcharging by private hospitals, lack of widespread testing and ineffective contact tracing. Acknowledging these allegations, the central government has stepped in with a few measures aimed at reducing the burden on the general public. Also Read - FBI warns against fraud COVID-19 antibody tests: Are you falling prey to them?

Hospital rates fixed

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, private hospitals cannot overcharge COVID-19 patients for their hospitalization. The Ministry has fixed the charges at Rs 8,000-10,000, 13,000-15,000 and 15,000-18,000 including PPE costs for isolation bed, ICUs without & with ventilator respectively. All private hospitals will have to follow these guidelines. Currently, hospitals are charging Rs 24,000-25,000, 34,000-43,000 and 44,000-54,000 excluding PPE cost for the same. The Niti Aayog committee, which was initiated by Union home minister Amit Shah, to fix the rates of isolation beds charged by the private hospitals in Delhi, had submitted these recommendations. Also Read - Is it allergic rhinitis or COVID-19? Here’s how to find out

New rates may apply to NCR too

Today, Shah reviewed the coronavirus situation in Delhi-NCR. He said that satellite cities like Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad cannot be separated from the national capital in this battle. Though the rates are applicable to Delhi private hospitals, the same can be applied to NCR too. These rates can be applied in hospitals in the NCR cities after consultations. Also Read - Mutated COVID-19 virus 3 to 9 times more infectious, but it does not make people sicker

Door to door survey complete in Delhi

Taking cognizance of the fact that cases are rising alarmingly in the national capital, Shah had also asked for measures to contain the spread of the disease. As per his directions given in a series of meetings chaired by him over the last few days, house to house health survey in 242 containment zones of Delhi was completed on Thursday. A total of 2.3 lakh people were covered in this survey.

Prices for COVID-19 tests fixed at Rs 2,400

Meanwhile the Delhi government on Thursday also gave an order to fix the price of COVID-19 tests performed by laboratories at Rs 2,400 each. The order comes a day after the Union Home Ministry capped the price for the COVID-19 RT-PCR test in the national capital. The order said the Delhi Disaster Management Committee has accepted the recommendations of the committee under Dr V K Paul, member of NITI Aayog, for fixing reasonable rate for COVID-19 test performed by private labs in Delhi at Rs 2,400. The rate includes GST, other taxes, if any, the cost involved in picking and transportation of samples, documentation and reporting with immediate effect. Authorities at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) here earlier in the day said the new rate has been brought into effect from Thursday.

(With input from Agencies)

Published : June 19, 2020 10:22 pm | Updated:June 19, 2020 10:26 pm

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