Tamil Nadu insurance to cover coronavirus care in private hospitals

CHENNAI: As cases surge, TN has brought Covid-19 care under the CM’s health insurance scheme — which covers 1.57 crore families — to help patients get treated at private hospitals. Hitherto, TN patients were offered free treatment at government hospitals. As per the package released by health department, empanelled hospitals admitting patients with mild or no symptoms can charge up to Rs 5,000 a day for general wards. While A1 and A2 hospitals can charge between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 a day from patients admitted to ICUs, A3 and A4 hospitals can charge between Rs 9,000 and Rs 13,000. The list of multispeciality hospitals and their categorisation is available on the scheme’s webpage (https://www.cmchistn.com).
The state has laid out a set of conditions for private hospitals admitting patients under the scheme. All hospitals should reserve at least 25% of their beds under the scheme, and beneficiaries will not make any cash payments. Action would be taken against hospitals that take more than the prescribed amount for treatment, a state government press release said.
“The battle against the virus should be fought by both private and public hospitals,” the release added.
Earlier this week, health minister C Vijaya Baskar said the state was receiving complaints about hospitals fleecing patients. He said the state would soon fix rates for testing and treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Foe details and complaints about the scheme, people can call free helpline number: 1800425 3993.