Chhattisgarh pvt hospitals overcharging Covid-19 patients to face action

The Chhattisgarh government has

warned of action against private hospitals if they overcharge COVID-19 patients, an official said on Wednesday.

There have been complaints that some private hospitals, which are designated as COVID-19 treatment facilities, are charging hefty amounts from patients.

Chhattisgarh Health Services Director Neeraj Bansod on Tuesday issued a directive to all district chief medical and health officers (CMHOs), asking them to take action if they get complaints against private hospitals of charging more than the fees fixed by the state government for COVID-19 treatment.

Such hospitals will face action under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Chhattisgarh Public Health Act, 1949, and the Chhattisgarh Epidemic Diseases COVID-19 Regulations, 2020, a public relations department official said on Wednesday.

The CMHOs have also been directed to inform the district collector concerned about such complaints and if necessary, cancel the permission for COVID-19 treatment of those private hospitals, he said.

The Chhattisgarh government on September 5 fixed the rates of COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals after classifying them in three categories.

Hospitals in major districts like Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Bilaspur, Korba and Raigarh have been listed in A category, while those in Surguja, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Kanker, Janjgir-Champa, Balodabazar-Bhatapara, Kabirdham and Bastar districts are in 'B' category.

Hospitals in remaining 14 districts of the state have been placed in 'C' category.

The 'A' category hospitals accredited by the National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH) can charge Rs 6,200 per day from moderately sick patients, Rs 12,000 per day for severely ill patients and Rs 17,000 per day for very severely ill patients.

The non-NABH accredited hospitals can charge Rs 6,200, Rs 10,000 and Rs 14,000 from moderate, severe and very severely ill patients, respectively, the official said.

Hospitals in the B category can charge 80 per cent of the rate fixed for the A category hospitals, while hospitals in the 'C' category can charge 60 per cent of it.

Till Tuesday, Chhattisgarh reported 90,917 COVID-19 cases and 718 deaths due to the disease.