A young parent, Ramesh (name changed) took to Twitter seeking help for the treatment of his wife who recently delivered a baby in a private hospital in the city while undergoing treatment for severe COVID-19 infection.
He was helpless as her health condition was not improving even as all his savings were spent. “I have paid some amount upfront and got my wife admitted a few days ago. Since then a lot of money has been spent on medicines, oxygen and other expenses. Some injections have cost ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 per vial and one particular medicine costs over ₹43,000 per vial. All the persons I know, including my employers, have helped me in all ways,” Mr. Ramesh tells The Hindu.
Many people, including actor Nikhil, MP Kesineni Srinivas and personnel from the Chief Minister’s Office responded to my Twitter appeal and extended help, he says. “My wife’s condition, however, is still critical. Fortunately, the baby tested negative for COVID-19 and is doing fine but I haven’t been able to see him till now,” he adds.
“Recently, all my in-laws were infected and they spent about ₹10 lakh for treatment, much of it for purchase of Remdesivir on the black market. Now, we are getting it for MRP. I have no idea how to pay the hospital bill and how much they are going to charge. We are eligible for Aarogyasri but need help to access it,” Mr. Ramesh explains his plight.
The ongoing second wave of COVID-19 has pushed several families into deep financial troubles, so much so that some had to sell away immovable properties or raise loans that will take years to repay. The new variants of the virus are spreading fast and entire families are getting infected at a time or in a short span of time.
The financial burden on those who got cured without the need for oxygen support and hospitalisation, however, has been minimal.
Life savings lost
Like Mr. Ramesh many have lost their life savings to hospitals and greedy suppliers of medicines and medical oxygen which are essential for the survival of COVID-infected patients.
“I had to pay ₹2.5 lakh upfront before admission to a private hospital. My entire family got infected but they recovered at home while I needed oxygen support and Remdesivir. Even though I had insurance with cashless treatment facility I had to pay the amount. Black-marketing of Remdesivir was at a peak then and the amount I had spent for it was equal to one-third of the hospital bill,” narrates Raj Kumar, a 30-year-old IT professional. This was the case with many who got admitted to private hospitals for treatment, he says.
In some cases, families took to crowdfunding portals to collect money for the treatment of their kin as they were left with no other option.
A person with mild symptoms under home isolation will have to spend about ₹5,000 or less while treatment in a private hospital will cost ₹3-5 lakh even for a patient requiring only oxygen support. All this, after successfully passing through the most difficult phase of finding a bed in a private hospital.
In the case of treatment and delivery for pregnant women, hospitals are charging more than ₹5 lakh as a package or about ₹50,000 per day for ICU.
Though the government COVID-19 squads are booking cases against hospitals for overcharging patients, many continue to violate rules and loot patients, complain victims.