Patients suffer as hospitals, insurance firms spar over treatment costs

Prices fixed by the Telangana government are at least 70 to 80 per cent lower than what corporate hospitals usually charge.
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)

HYDERABAD: Thanks to the Telangana government’s half-hearted attempt to fix a cap on prices charged by private hospitals for Covid-19 treatment, patients in Hyderabad are caught between the devil and the deep sea — the corporate hospitals and insurance companies, the former demanding more money and the latter sticking to the government rules.

For instance, Manoj Kothari, a 47-year-old patient, was forced to stay in Yashoda Hospital, Somajiguda for four days after getting treated for the virus. He was charged Rs 4.2 lakh for treatment but the insurance company, United India Insurance, reimbursed only Rs 1.23 lakh. While the insurance company claims that it has calculated the cost of treatment as per Government Order (GO) 248 on price fixation for Covid-19 treatment, Yashoda Hospital claims that the GO applies only for patients who take treatment on basis of paying charges themselves and not for patients who opt for payment through medical insurance.

When Express spoke to officials who deal with medical insurance, they revealed that similar problems have been reported from other corporate hospitals and public sector insurance companies. While the GO serves well for insurance companies, giving them scope to pay less, for corporate hospitals it has caused much heartburn. Prices fixed by the Telangana government are at least 70 to 80 per cent lower than what corporate hospitals usually charge.

For treatment in ICU, the GO had fixed the charges at Rs 9,000 per day, which includes charges for ventilator as well as medicines, consultations, meals and catheterisation. In Kothari’s case, around 40 per cent of total billing amount was under pharmacy category, barring a few thousands of rupees for tests, all of which according to the GO must be free. Kothari was asked to pay the difference amount of about `3 lakh by the hospital but he has refused do so and continues to stay in the hospital. He has also filed a complaint with the Punjagutta police.

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