Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori today said that to check profiteering by the private hospitals the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh led state government has fixed their Covid-19 treatment rates.
Divulging the details, the deputy commissioner said that as per orders issued by the department of health and family welfare, all private hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic labs, etc. cannot charge the fees exceeding that of fixed by the government for various Covid-19 treatments and tests.
The DC stated that the private laboratories in the district can charge a maximum of Rs. 900 (including GST) for the RT-PCR test while an amount of Rs. 2000 has been fixed for the CT Scans/HRCT chest. He further directed all the laboratories not to declare a person Covid-19 positive or negative based on their CT scan reports unless they undergo the necessary RT-PCR test.
Mr. Thori mentioned that all the private hospitals and laboratories shall submit their data regarding Covid-19 treatment and tests with the Civil Surgeon office regularly and asked the civil surgeon to ensure implementation of the government's orders in letter and spirit.
For Moderate Sickness requiring Isolation Beds, including supportive care and oxygen, the rates per day of admission are fixed at Rs 10,000 for all Private Medical Colleges / Private Institutes with a teaching program, Rs 9000 for NABH accredited Hospitals (Including Private Medical Colleges without PG/DNB Course) and Rs. 8000 for Non- NABH accredited Hospitals, Mr. Thori added.
The deputy commissioner further reveals that the rates for the categories of Severe Sickness (ICU without need for ventilator) have been capped, respectively, at Rs. 15,000, Rs. 14,000 and Rs. 13,000, while for Very Severe or Critical sickness; these are fixed at Rs. 18,000, Rs. 16,500 and Rs. 15,000 respectively. All these rates are inclusive of PPE cost, according to orders issued by the government, said the DC.
Further, to encourage private hospitals to cater to Mild Sickness cases also, the government has also fixed per day admission rates for such cases at Rs. 6,500, Rs. 5,500 and Rs. 4,500 respectively adding he said that for special isolation rooms the patients may be charged maximum per day per patient Rs. 4000.
Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori has asked all the private healthcare establishments in the district to strictly adhere to these guidelines of the state government as any kind of complaint regarding overcharging would be dealt with a heavy hand.
He asked the Civil Surgeon, Dr. Balwant Singh, to conduct inspections in the private hospitals and labs to ensure that only capped prices were charged from the patients besides reporting of the cases where overcharging was found.