Double blow: Hospitals charging 50% for corona treatment in the name of PPE kits

Mumbai, Ta. May 30, 2020, Saturday

It may come as a shock to hear that the hospitals treating Corona are billing Rs one lakh in the name of N95 masks and PPE kits. This may sound a bit exaggerated, but it is happening in private hospitals across the country. Many private hospitals have added up to 50 per cent to the bill in the name of masks and PPE kits. Until now, hospitals used to charge 10 per cent for such items, which has been increased to 50 per cent. This means that 50 per cent of the bill is for drugs and 50 per cent is for medical staff during the patient's treatment.

Medical staff checks several patients at once wearing PPE kits and masks but the full amount is added to all patients' bills. If a doctor examines five patients wearing a PPE kit and a mask, the cost should be divided among the five patients but the full cost of the mask and kit is added to the bill of all the patients.

A private hospital in Mumbai billed a family Rs 2.8 lakh with the addition of Rs 1.4 lakh of masks and PPE kits. The patient, who was the victim of the scandal, said that he had been in the hospital for 19 days due to corona and half of the amount in the bill was for kit, mask and face shield. An even bigger blow to the patient was given by the insurance company saying that they would not pay for the mask, PPE kit and face shield.

A hospital in Delhi has billed a patient only Rs 80,000 for PPE kits. The hospital charged Rs 4,300 per kit for the first two days but charged Rs 8,900 per kit for the remaining seven days. While such news is coming from many cities of the country, the hospital administration defended that the consumable item is used only for one person and transparency is maintained by giving daily account to the patient.

The number of people buying insurance policies between January and March this year has increased by 20-50 per cent in view of the Corona epidemic. But there is a problem that people are having to empty their pockets despite the policy. After such cases came to light, an organization called Insurance Samadhan, which provides legal advice on the method of claiming insurance, declared that the price of disposable items could not exceed 10 per cent, which is currently being charged at 50 per cent. Insurance companies do not pay for many items like masks, face shields and PPE kits and the bill shows a huge number of them.