When 52-year-old Narender Kaur tested positive for COVID-19 on June 24, her daughter immediately called up government helplines numbers but allegedly got no response responded.
Left with little choice, she rushed her mother to Shanti Mukand Hospital, a private clinic close to her house.
“They asked me to deposit ₹4 lakh. Since I could not withdraw more than ₹50,000 from my card in a day, I paid ₹2.5 lakh in installments. But on July 5, I got a call from the hospital’s billing department that my bill had exceeded ₹7.5 lakh. I was shocked. How can it be ₹7.5 lakh?” asked Mayanka Sanghotra, Ms. Kaur’s daughter.
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The Delhi government had capped charges for COVID-19 treatment at private hospitals on June 20, but many clinics are charging much more than the limit. “Later, I came to know about the Delhi government rates and after help from activists and putting a lot of pressure on the hospital for more than 10 days, they agreed to change my rates to Delhi government prices on July 17. I still paid ₹4.2 lakh,” Ms. Sanghotra told
During a press conference on Saturday, various rights groups said the issue was a direct consequence of the “failure” of the Delhi government to provide transparent information to the public, and lack of effort by authorities to enforce the order on capping rates.
A Delhi government spokesperson did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.
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Commenting on Ms. Sanghotra’s case, Dr. Hooda, in-charge of the billing department of Shanti Mukand Hospital, said: “In 60% of the beds, we charge Delhi government rates, and in 40% we charge hospital rates, as per the government order. We charged her hospital rates after getting an undertaking from her. We later changed it to Delhi government rates.”
When it was pointed out that according to the official order, the private hospital has to charge government rates on all its beds, Dr. Hooda said: “Now we charge Delhi government rates on all our beds.”
Ms. Sanghotra settled her bill around 7 p.m. on July 17. Around 9.30 p.m., her mother passed away.
“I had gone to Lok Nayak Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Hospital when I came to know that the bill is very high, but there were no ventilator beds and we were forced to stay in a private hospital. The government did not help to even settle the bill. The government is not doing anything,” she said.
The group of civil societies also sent a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday.
“We, the undersigned civil society organisations and networks, are writing to you regarding flagrant noncompliance of private hospitals with the Delhi government’s order capping treatment rates for COVID19, and to express our concerns regarding the lack of efforts by the Delhi government to enforce the order,” read the letter jointly written by the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s studies, and 18 other groups.
More cases
Apart from Ms. Sanghotra, three other people said they were “overcharged” by private hospitals. Though a total of four cases were pointed out during the press conference, the groups said there were more such cases.
“The behaviour of private hospitals is no accident, but rather a direct consequence of the refusal of the Delhi government to enforce its own order, which has enabled hospitals to violate the rules with impunity. There is complicity of the government in refusing to act or provide support to patients. It is very hard for families to negotiate with hospitals and get the correct rates, especially when the patient is admitted due to power differential,” said Malini Aisola, co-convenor of AIDAN.
‘Settle matter’
The groups claimed that even when someone from the Delhi government responded, they usually asked the complainants to settle the issue with the hospital instead of getting directly involved in the matter and solving the problem.
On 20 June, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), headed by the L-G, accepted recommendations of a committee under V. K. Paul, member of NITI Aayog, for fixing rates for COVID related treatment in private hospitals in the city.
The committee was appointed by the Centre, who also appoints the L-G.
Later in the day, based on the DDMA’s approval, the Delhi government issued an order fixing package rates for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals. A hospital that reserves over 60% of its total beds for COVID-19 treatment can charge government rates for 60% of the beds and hospitals rates for the other 40%.
A hospital that reserves less than 60% of its total beds for COVID-19 treatment has to charge government rates for all its beds.
Shanti Mukand Hospital had reserved 100 beds out of a total 200 beds for COVID-19 treatment.