DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government has fixed the rate of covid-19 treatment in private medical facilities ranging between Rs 10,000-18,000 per day.
This includes various kinds of packages involving ventilator and non-ventilator services depending on patient's condition.
"A Letter has been sent to the private hospitals stating that they will have to reserve 25% beds for government officials/employees and those eligible for Ayushman Bharat or Atal Ayushman Yojana," Amit Negi, Health Secretary said.
The hospitals have also been instructed to follow the guidelines issued by the state government on quarantine for doctors and other medical staff.
The patients are categorised as three- moderate, severe and very severe.
Rates have been fixed differently for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) accredited hospitals and non-NABH accredited hospitals.
If the patient falls in the 'moderate' category, they will be charged Rs 10,000 per day for isolation bed with oxygen in NABH hospitals while charges have been fixed AA at Rs 8000 per day for non-NABH hospitals.
For a patient who in the 'severe' category, an ICU room without ventilator patient will be charged at Rs 15,000 per day in NABH hospitals while Rs 13,000 per day will be charged for the same facility in non-NABH hospitals.
'Very Severe' patients who need ventilator support with ICU facilities will be charged Rs 18,000 per day in NABH hospitals and Rs 15,000 in non-NABH hospitals.
However, the opposition has attacked the state government over these 'high' rates saying and argued that residents may not be able to afford such expensive treatment options.
Indira Hridayesh, MLA from Haldwani and leader of opposition in Uttarakhand state legislative assembly said: "The rates are exorbitant for the people of the hill who are already facing unemployment and other issues. The government should act as welfare government not an exploitative one."
Uttarakhand has so far reported 22,180 cases and 300 deaths so far, according to state health department data.