The Karnataka Medical Education Minister, Dr K Sudhakar pulled up a private hospital in Bengaluru for violation of state government guidelines by charging in excess while treating a COVID-19 patient. Sudhakar also tweeted that strict action will be taken against the erring Apollo hospital in Bengaluru’s Seshadripuram for breaching the price cap prescribed by the Karnataka government.
Read: COVID-19 price cap for private hospitals: Docs, public health experts, patients slam K'taka govt
According to the government guidelines which were issued last month, there is a set price cap which private hospitals must follow while treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic. The cost per day for the general ward in a private hospital was capped at Rs 10,000, as per the guidelines. However, according to a copy of the bill tweeted by the minister, the hospital has given an outstanding bill amount to the tune of Rs 4,10,319, with Rs 5000 already deducted as an advance deposit.
In a tweet, the minister says, “I have received information that Apollo hospital in Bengaluru’s Seshadripuram is exorbitantly charging the public. This particular hospital has been warned for the same offense several times. I was shocked to learn that despite that they have charged a corona patient a Rs 5 lakh bill.”
The hospital will face action for charging patients a high amount, the minister added. In a second tweet, the minister said, “The hospital’s management has gone against the government’s order, and charged much more than the prescribed rate. This information has come to my notice today and I will take strict action against the private hospital.”
In its defense, the hospital claimed that the bill tweeted by Sudhakar shows the insurance company’s tariff. A statement released by Apollo Hospital said the insurance company's tariff was taken into account and not the government's price cap. "In the said case, the patient has been in the hospital for the last 21 days, which includes 9 days in the ICU, and the billing is as per the tariff agreed with the insurance company. At Apollo Hospitals, we maintain strict transparency and the treatment and cost of care is clearly discussed upfront with the patient and/or family. (sic)"
This is not the first time that this particular hospital has been pulled up by the government for overcharging coronavirus patients. On July 6, the hospital had charged a patient Rs 6,000 when the government had capped the price for coronavirus tests conducted in private hospitals to Rs 4,500.
Meanwhile, IPS officer D Roopa offered her services to the Karnataka government to deal with private hospitals who were overcharging coronavirus patients. Quoting the minister’s tweet, she said, “Sir, if I am given the responsibility of (overseeing) all the hospitals, along with Harsha Gupta IAS (who is currently in charge of COVID-19 administration in Mysuru district), we will immediately handle the problem and fix the systems in place of several hospitals. We will see that the violation of the government order is investigated as a criminal offense under the disaster management act, with the permission of the court,” the tweet read.