Emergency treatment at non-recognised hospital no ground to deny COVID-19 reimbursement: Rajasthan HC
Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that emergency treatment received at a non-recognised hospital cannot be a valid ground for denying medical reimbursement if the patient required immediate admission to the nearest available healthcare facility.
The court observed this while directing Rajasthan University to reimburse the medical expenses of a retired professor who received treatment during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an order passed on July 27, Justice Rekha Borana directed the university to reimburse the eligible medical expenses incurred by the late retired professor, along with 6% annual interest. A copy of the judgment was uploaded on Monday.
The case was filed by the daughter of retired professor Jagdish Prasad Srivastava, who underwent treatment at multiple hospitals in Delhi, including AIIMS and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, before he died on November 18, 2021, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the petition, the family submitted a reimbursement claim of around Rs 8.9 lakh on July 27, 2022. However, Rajasthan University rejected the claim on August 17, 2022, stating that the treatment had been taken at a non-recognised hospital outside Rajasthan.
While hearing the matter, the High Court observed that the COVID-19 pandemic was an extraordinary situation where obtaining immediate medical care was more important than complying with procedural requirements regarding recognised hospitals. As per a TOI report, “The COVID-19 pandemic was an extraordinary situation in which immediate medical care was of paramount importance,” the court said.
The High Court further observed that if an emergency requires a patient to be admitted to the nearest available hospital outside the prescribed jurisdiction, treatment at such a hospital cannot, by itself, be used as a ground to deny reimbursement.
Accordingly, the Court directed Rajasthan University to process and reimburse the eligible medical expenses incurred by the petitioner's family, along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum.
