Ernakulam (Kerala): The Kerala High Court on Monday came hard on private hospitals for allegedly charging exorbitant fees for treating COVID-19 patients.
While reminding the hospitals that the country was passing through an extraordinary situation, it did not mince words to say many of them were fleecing people. The court also directed private hospitals to put up rate cards in their respective buildings as well as their websites. It asked the sectoral magistrates to monitor hospitals.
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Meanwhile, the government informed the High Court that it had issued an order directing private hospitals to fix rates for COVID-19 treatment. Private hospitals can charge Rs 2,645 for treatment in general ward. This price includes nursing charges, medication and testing. Hospitals are allowed to charge more for scanning. The government has also directed that PPE kits should not be charged more than their Maximum Retail Price. The government told the court that it would take strict action against those who charge high rates. It said such complaints will be received by the district medical officers and a panel of doctors will look into the appeals. District collectors are authorised to take action against those who sell oxymeters at high prices. It also informed the court that hospitals are not allowed to take any advance from patients. A grievance redressal committee has also been appointed.
The government order also applies to Homeopathy and Ayurveda hospitals and the case will be reconsidered again after examining whether the order is being implemented in the state. The court congratulated the government for its intervention.
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However, private hospital managements told the court that this was not a viable model. They said it costs around Rs 3,500 to admit a patient and the staff, including doctors, attending to the patient will require eleven PPE kits. To this, the court asked whether the team would treat only one patient. It also asked the hospital managements how a person with a daily income of Rs 1,000 could pay bills as high as Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. The court ruled that the Indian Medical Association's claim that the hospitals will have to be closed could not be accepted and that the government order had come into force.
The Muslim Educational Society and the Catholic Hospital Association, for their part, said they accept the government's order. The court also directed the government to fix the rates for private first-line treatment centres.
