2 days on, panel gets 5 complaints on inflated hospital bills

Gurgaon: A committee constituted to look into private Covid hospitals overcharging patients has received five complaints so far. The panel was set up by the deputy commissioner of Gurgaon, Yash Garg, on June 2.
Most complainants have said private hospitals gave them inflated bills during the discharge process. According to sources, some also mentioned irregularities related to insurance claims. Among the complaints, a few are about hospitals overcharging patients during treatment of post-Covid complications. These complainants have demanded that they be charged according to the Covid treatment rates fixed by the government for post-Covid complications as well. In June 2020, the Haryana government had fixed rates for Covid treatment in private hospitals across the state.
While the rate of isolation beds at hospitals accredited to the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare (NABH) and Joint Commission International (JCI) was fixed at Rs 10,000 per day, for ICU beds without ventilators, the daily rate was capped at Rs 15,000. ICU beds with ventilators were priced at Rs 18,000 per day. But no such guidelines have been issued for treatment of post-Covid complications.
“We have got five complaints so far. We will meet once a week to take up the issues and depending on the number of complaints, we might increase the frequency of meetings. There is no deadline when it comes to finding a resolution but we will try to be prompt,” said city magistrate Siddarth Dahiya, who is also the head of the committee.
The panel will discuss each complaint and call the complainant and hospital representatives to discuss the matter.
One can submit a complaint to the Gurgaon civil surgeon office at Sector 31 or at the city magistrate’s office in the mini secretariat. They can also be sent to ctmgrg@hry.nic.in.