Kerala hospital slapped Rs 14 lakh fine for overcharging COVID patient
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Thiruvananthapuram: A private hospital has to cough up a hefty amount of Rs 14 Lakh as a fine after it overcharged a Covid patient who was supposed to get free treatment following the directions of the district collectorate. The action was taken against the hospital after the State Human Rights Commission's intervention (SHRC).
The patient has been identified as a resident of Vattiyoorkavu, and he was admitted to the private facility on May 12, 2021, where he received treatment for six days. The hospital, however, claimed that they charged the patient before they were impaneled and so, technically they did not violate any rules.
In his plea to the SHRC, his son claimed that the hospital took Rs 58,695 from the patient's insurance and charged him Rs 84,013. This is in violation of the norm that clearly prohibits impaneled hospitals from collecting fees to patients referred by the collectorate's Covid cell. However, the patient was charged a total of Rs 1,42,708 by the hospital, reports The New Indian Express.
The health department would issue a fine ten times the money received from the patient, according to the district medical officer's report. The hospital has been presented with a show-cause notice and has been given 15 days to respond.
In its defense, the hospital informed the commission that it was just impaneled on May 21 and that it could not provide free care to a patient before that day. The hospital was also accused of overcharging for PPE kits and masks, according to the DMO's investigation. PPE kits cost Rs 20,675 and N95 masks cost Rs 1,950. According to the investigation, overcharging for medical equipment like PPT kits is also a clear violation of government guidelines.
Last month a similar incident took place and Manipal hospital was directed by the Karnataka health department to return the excess amount of money collected from three COVID patients as treatment charges. The popular hospital chain with several branches across Bengaluru received a warning for overcharging Covid patients who were admitted to one of their branches.
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