PROFIT ABOVE COVID – Hospitals mint money in midst of distress
Harjinder Singh, INN/Chennai, @infodeaofficial
The country has enforced a series of lockdowns in an effort to put a halt on the fast spread of COVID-19 virus. While it has become a question of survival, the medical community has an immense role in protecting the masses and handling the consequences of the pandemic.
The government along with the medical associations has put forth multiple sets of rules and regulations to ease the medical procedure for the victims, thereby ensuring that medical assistance is available and affordable for everyone. But there has been a conniving deviation from the standard instructions, among the private hospitals.
Chennai, the capital city of Tamilnadu has been recording a high surge in the number of Coronavirus cases after the initial period of the lockdown.
Several complaints have been reported (via social media and other platforms) against the private hospitals of the city for overcharging patients, in terms of testing, room rent and other treatment costs. In an operation conducted by the team of Infodea, we were able to find the following discrepancies.
According to the instructions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the cost of Covid-19 test is Rs.3,500 for the tests taken in hospitals and Rs.4,500 for the tests taken in one’s home. But this was not the case in a few private hospitals of Chennai.
A reputed hospital in the Pallikaranai area of Chennai, charges Rs.8750 (approximately the double of original cost, Rs.4500) for testing.
https://youtu.be/raPeu6c3ZXE
This hospital only collects the samples from patients and it carries out the testing in government authorised labs, after which (after the duration of 24 hours) the reports are given. When our correspondent tried reaching the hospital’s PRO, there was no response from their side.
We were also able to find that certain hospitals make it mandatory for patients (who come for taking a Covid-19 test) to be admitted for several days before going for a test. This technique may be achieved, with the idea of charging the patients an extra amount for their room rent.
One of the hospitals in Manapakkam, Chennai, specifies that the test cannot be done for an outpatient and the person will have to get admitted in their facility to take a Covid-19 test. They charge an amount of Rs.5,500 for the tests.
https://youtu.be/7dYlYTHwiHs
The admission cost is about Rs.2.5 Lakhs if the patient chooses to stay in a ward (where there will be several other patients who have come for testing) and Rs.3 Lakhs if they choose an ICU (where the patient will be treated in a separate room).
The report comes within a day or two and if the person has tested positive, they’ll be moved to another facility. Also, this hospital didn’t respond when asked about their procedures and charges.
Another prominent hospital in Vanagaram, Chennai has made it compulsory for its patients to get admitted, beforehand. This admission is primarily supervised by the concerned doctor, who carries out a basic check up for the patient and then decides whether he/she should be admitted or not.
https://youtu.be/qdmbEZbZmvs
Once the patients are admitted, they have to stay in the facility for a period of 14 days, after which the Covid-19 tests will be taken. An amount of Rs.40,000 should be paid for admission and the room rent charges for each day in the hospital (where the patients have to stay for 14 days) corresponds to an amount of Rs 40,000.
When our correspondent reached out to Suganthi, the PRO of that hospital, she said, “The Covid tests are taken in our facility, but the procedure is a bit different here. After the general check up is carried out, the doctor gets to decide whether the person needs to be admitted or not. The doctor’s discretion is final.”
In an interview with Dr.Kanthaiah Ramanujam, MS (Gen), Senior Consultant Surgeon, he said that it was very disheartening and sad to see this kind of offence, being committed by private hospitals.
He also added that the procedure involved in taking tests consists of two stages.
The first stage of the test will be charged with Rs.1500 and if it’s result turns out to be negative, the person is not required to take the second stage of the test, which costs about Rs.3000.
According to him, the government hospitals are doing a better job in maintaining the cleanliness of the hospital premises and are also making special provisions for extra beds, in the interest of accommodating more patients.
After the several reports carried out by news channels, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Tamilnadu Government, Dr. C. Vijayabaskar has said that he will call for a meeting with private hospitals to regulate Covid treatment charges and to reduce the testing fee at private labs.
The final decision about the rates is expected to be announced in a couple of days. He also added that if the hospitals overcharge the patients after the regulation, action will be taken against them under the Clinical Establishments Act.