Pvt hospital accused of charging fees in excess of cap put by Govt
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 30 2021: Apart from denying the benefits of Chief Ministergi Hakshelgi Tengbang (CMHT) card, Raj Medicity has not allowed a family to claim the body of a Covid victim for non-payment of hospital bill amounting to Rs 2.71 lakh.

This came to light after one Kh Bantakumar of Heirangoithong wrote a letter to the Deputy Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Government of Manipur complaining about the exorbitant hospital bill.

Copies of the same complaint were also sent to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Health Advisor, Deputy Commissioner Imphal West and State Health Director.

Kh Bantakumar is a grandson of the deceased, Khangembam Pishak (75), who succumbed to COVID-19 on May 29.According to the complaint, the grandmother, Kh Pishak was admitted at Raj Medicity with COVID-19 on May 25 .

As her health deteriorated, she was admitted to the Covid ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of the hospital on the same day.

After about 4 days of treatment, Pishak succumbed to COVID-19 in the morning of May 29 at the hospital.

The complaint then continued that they were shocked to learn that the bill of the hospital for treatment from May 25 to May 29 morning was Rs 2,71,560 (Rs two lakh, seventy-one thousand, five hundred and sixty) .

It said the bill was totally against a Government order of May 26 which put caps on cost of Covid treatments in private hospitals.

Amid the Government's announcement that PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) and CHMT (Chief Ministergi Hakshelgi Tengbang) would cover treatment of Covid patients, the complaint said the hospital denied them the benefits of the CMHT card.

Above this, Raj Medicity was not allowing the family to take the body for last rites due to nonpayment of the bill, it added.

"Now dead body of our beloved grandmother can't be taken back for last rites due to non-payment of bills which is a huge burden for us," said Bantakumar in the complaint.

In addition to the hardships the family is facing with the grandmother's demise, the exorbitant hospital bill has added a huge financial burden, said Bantakumar seeking the intervention of the Deputy Secretary Health and Family Welfare.

He also appealed to the authorities concerned to enforce the May 26 Government order strictly and ensure adherence by all private hospitals.

Notably, the Government had fixed the upper limit of charges for Covid treatment as follows;
General/Isolation without O2 support - Rs 3,000 per day
General/Isolation with O2 support -Rs 5,000 per day
High Dependency Unit (HDU) - Rs 7,000 per day
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) without ventilator use- Rs 8,000 per day
ICU with ventilator use-Rs 10,000 per day.

The charges above include registration charge, bed charge, nursing and boarding charge, medicine and drugs, oxygen charges, pathology and radiology test.

However, high end medicine like Remdesivir can be charged separately at the rate of Rs 3,400 per dose (current GoI prescribed rate).

Also, PPE costs may be charged separately based on actual use and the cost should be sub-allocated among patients based on rounds taken by the doctor and nurses, said the Government order.

The same order had also informed that PMJAY and CMHT would cover the COVID-19 hospitalization expenses of beneficiaries.

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