The Greater Chennai Corporation has started issuing notices to several private hospitals against which complaints of overcharging were received for treating COVID-19 patients.
The move comes in the backdrop of the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project receiving complaints from several patients about exorbitant charges by hospitals and being forwarded to the civic body for action.
A senior official, citing the Governor Order No. 251 issued on May 22 fixing the rates for medical treatment of COVID-19 patients by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, said steps were being taken to get the hospitals refund the excess charges to the patients.
He said 20 complaints had been received against private hospitals in Aminjikarai, Vadapalani, Pallikaranai, Perungudi, and Ambattur.
The senior civic official said six hospitals had come forward and reimbursed the ‘additional’ amount charged from patients.
The remaining 14 hospitals were yet to respond to the notices.
Notices are issued to the private hospitals based on complaints received over helpline 104 and a few directly to the civic body through email.
The civic official said once a complaint was received, the patients were contacted and asked to share the bill details.
A core team of young medical specialists is involved in diligently checking the bills with the rates prescribed by the State government for COVID-19 treatment. In a few cases, the bills ran to 50 pages, he added.
The civic body has been able to get refunds to the patients ranging from ₹35,000 to ₹3.30 lakh.
The civic official said: “A total of ₹8 lakh has been refunded to seven patients till date.”
A city hospital admitted that a notice had been received and that it was looking into the case.