CHENNAI: The Health Department has so far taken action against 27 private hospitals across the State for violating standard Covid treatment protocol and charging exorbitant fees. These private hospitals had started treating Covid patients after March.
According to officials, the department had cancelled the Covid treatment licence of nine hospitals, of which they restored three after their managements apologised and gave an undertaking that such violation would not happen again.
As many as 18 hospitals, including corporate facilities, were made to re-pay the patients the excess fees they had charged. “Licence of three hospitals in Chennai -- Kilpauk, Arumbakkam and Tambaram – was cancelled for violation of treatment protocol.
The other hospitals are in Tiruchy, Virudhunagar, Salem, Coimbatore, Thoothukudi and Ranipet. When the managements apologised, we re-issued the licences of the hospitals in Arumbakkam, Tiruchy and Tambaram.
However, the hospital in Kilpauk said it did not want to treat Covid patients anymore,” an official from the Directorate of Medical Services said. The hospital in Tambaram, the official said, had discharged a patient during midnight as the person could not pay the bill. “So we cancelled its licence. Later, the management tendered an apology and we re-issued it,” the official said.
Eighteen hospitals were made to settle the excess fees they had charged. “Some hospitals repaid the patients Rs 30,000, while some, up to ` two lakh. Some hospitals claimed that errors had crept in at the billing section. In some cases, we took suo motu action.
Some patients complained directly to the Directorate of Medical Services. We took an undertaking from all these hospitals that such mistakes won’t happen again. We issued a warning that repeat offenders would forfeit their licence,” the official added.
STATE INSURANCE
Tamil Nadu government has fixed the treatment cost for beneficiaries of Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme and non-beneficiaries at private hospitals as follows