After learning that the State Government in Maharashtra has asked private hospitals to keep 80 per cent of the beds for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients, a new report now suggests that the government may also be looking to fix prices on the beds to prevent overcharging by the hospitals. A new notification sent by the government says that it will fix prices for patients suffering from cancer, as well as other ailments including COVID-19. This pertains to patients who require an Intensive Care Unit or ICU.
Through this method, the government is looking to procure up to 6,000 beds from private hospitals to help ailing patients. As briefed yesterday, these beds will be allotted to patients by a central portal.
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One of the unreleased notifications reportedly suggests that oncosurgery charges shall be on par with Tata Memorial Hospital. An official said that hospitals may charge patients for the PPE used by the staff while also clarifying that the cost of each PPE is set at Rs 100. The official added that hospitals cannot charge more than Rs 110 for a PPE.
Public Health Minister, Rajesh Tope has mentioned that private hospitals will have to follow GIPSA (General Insurance Public Sector Association) rates, and if hospitals don’t offer GIPSA, they will have to go by the chart prepared by the state.
The government has fixed Rs 2,500 for dialysis, Rs 25,000 for cataract operations, Rs 75,000 for normal pregnancy/delivery, and Rs 2.4 lakh for bilateral knee replacement. These steps will also ensure that those in need, especially the poor can get access to the private healthcare infrastructure while middle-class citizens can be relieved knowing that states have fixed prices for routine procedures.
Maharashtra currently has 37,134 cases of the coronavirus while Mumbai has reported 22,746 cases so far. Pune and Thane follow with 3,846 and 2,169 cases respectively.
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