Jharkhand plans Covid fee cap for pvt hosps

RANCHI: The state government on Thursday said it is planning to bring in a policy that will put a cap on the fees charged by private hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients. The hospitals, however, said any such action limiting their resources will affect their fight against the pandemic.
Talking to TOI, health and family welfare secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said, “We are working in that direction aggressively and an announcements in this regard will be made very soon.” He, however, did not divulge the details of the policy.
Health department sources said a draft of the policy is being prepared after studying the recent decisions in this regard taken by states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra among others. “The recommendations of Niti Ayog are also being incorporated in it,” a senior official said.
Once implemented, the policy will bring relief to several Covid-19 patients who are checking into private hospitals in Ranchi and other parts of state amid the exponential rise in new infections. As of Thursday morning, the state has reported a total of 20,231 cases of which 7,705 are active while 12,412 patients have recovered. A total of 204 persons have also died from the viral infection.
The state has a total of 11,510 beds at Covid care centres for asymptomatic patients while 4,876 beds were allocated for symptomatic patients. Of them, 637 are ICU beds as of August 8, including in private and public hospitals. As per the state government’s directives, each 100-bed private hospital has to reserve at least 10 beds for Covid-19 patients while other hospitals with 50-bed capacities must reserve five.
However, several Covid-19 patients in Ranchi and across the state have come out in the public complaining about the exhorbitant fees demanded by private hospitals, which included charges for bed, ventilator support and expensive multiple doses of antiviral injections such as Tocilizumab, which costs Rs 42,000 per vial.
A 45-year-old Doranda resident said, “My wife is admitted to a private hospital in Bariatu ever since she was dianosed with the virus. The hospital management has already charged us Rs 50,000 in three days. She remains critical and I now want to move her to Rims as I cannot afford the rising bills."
Jogesh Gambhir, president of Jharkhand chapter of Association of Healthcare Providers (India), however, said putting a cap on the fees will make private hospitals reluctant to treat Covid-19 patients. “For patients with several complexities, different procedures are needed and the rates vary from one hospital. Likewise, consultation fees and bed charges also vary. At the same time, private hospitals need to procure new equipment and scourge for medicines to save the lives of their patients. Instead of capping the fees, the government must allow private hospitals to run according to their convenience and set up more beds for patients who cannot afford treatment at private facilities,” Gambhir added.