West Bengal hospitals oppose Govt order fixing medical test charges, seek clarity on price cap

By Sanchari ChattopadhyayPublished On 2021-07-07T09:30:00+05:30 | Updated On 7 July 2021 4:00 AM GMT

West Bengal hospitals oppose Govt order fixing medical test charges, seek clarity on price cap

Kolkata: Strongly opposing the order by West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) to cap charges on 5 radiological and 15 pathological tests at all corporate hospitals having 150 beds and above, the the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI) has decided to write to the Commission seeking a clarification on the price cap.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that WBCERC had capped the charges for 5 radiological tests and 15 pathological tests to put a check on very high and irrational rates. The order to this effect was passed by the health panel in wake of complaints of high investigation charges, especially from Covid-19 patients throughout the pandemic.

With the latest price fixation, the rates of radiological tests have been capped in the range of Rs 400 to Rs 11000, while the charges for pathological tests will now range between Rs 450 to Rs 4000. However, the price cap did not go down well with many private hospitals and they questioned the unilateral price cap for all the patients.

A few of the corporate hospitals held a meeting on Saturday and discussed the latest price cap order issued by WBCERC. They unanimously found the order unjust and decided to approach the commission with the issue under the umbrella of AHEI. The Association decided to submit a letter to WBCERC commissioner Ashim Kumar Banerjee on Monday. Only after getting relevant feedback from the Commission, the Association will determine its next step of action, reports Time of India.

"We would be trying to understand on what basis the fixed charges have been decided, how it has been calculated, and also why the price cap order is meant only for the section of hospitals that have more than 150 beds. We are writing to the commission chairpe-rson on this," AHEI president Rupak Barua told the daily.

The private hospitals pointed out that they already provide their services at a low cost to a certain number of patients under hugely subsidized schemes like Swasthya Sathi. Moreover, being NABH accredited 150 bedded hospitals, they also had to be responsible for quality control which involves taking up high-cost measures.

"The order came as a surprise. We have had no issues in capping the price of RT-PCR, PPE or vaccines as these are part of community service. But we also need to generate income to pay employees and maintain the hospital and the lab," stated CK Birla Hospitals CMRI COO Simmardeep Gill.

Meanwhile, Belle Vue CEO Pradip Tondon further told the daily, "Apart from patients under subsidised schemes, close to 90% of those who come for treatment at hospitals are corporate patients. Therefore, how will the amount left after the capped price benefit the patients. We wish the commission had considered this while fixing the charges." While welcoming such regulations, the CEO of another hospital added, "it should also consider the kind of rising operational costs private hospitals have to incur and the inflation so that we can also survive."

Source : with inputs