Mayo hospital refunds ₹25 lakh to 28 patients overcharged for COVID treatment

Nearly a month after a case was registered against Mayo Hospital (now Mount Star Hospital) in Sector 69 for blackmarketing remdesivir injections and overcharging on account of Covid-19 treatment, the hospital authorities have refunded around ₹25 lakh to 28 patients.

Between April and May, when the tricity was battling the second wave of Covid, the hospital had fleeced around 100 patients, charging around ₹50,000 to 1 lakh more than the set limit from each patient.

An inquiry by a team led by sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Jagdeep Sehgal had found that the hospital was charging around ₹20,000 a day from Covid patients. As per the rates set by the government, a private hospital can charge ₹16,500 a day from a patient requiring ventilator support while for a bed without a ventilator, the charges are capped at ₹14,500 a day. This includes all expenses including room rent, visiting charges, and PPE requirements.

“Mayo Hospital was found to be offering a package of ₹40,000 for the entire span of hospitalisation but was adding ₹6,000 a day as visiting charges, which is illegal,” said report submitted by the SDM had stated.

On May 29, a case was registered under Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and Section51 (b) and 58 of the Disaster Management Act 2005, Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Acts at Phase-8 police station.

3 directors write to bank for stop cash credit limit
Meanwhile, three of the total eight directors of the hospital have written to the bank to stop the cash credit and overdraft facility, which the hospital is using to refund the money.

In a letter to HDFC bank, the three directors – Dr Deepak Tyagi, Dr Manoj Sharma and Dr Virender Dhankhar – said the hospital is facing financial crisis and there is a dispute among board members over operating the said account.

When contacted, HDFC branch manager Deepak Wadhwa confirmed that he has received a letter from three directors but added, “We will not act unless we get a resolution from the board of the directors in this regard.”

Acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the hospital, Dr Rajesh Gulia said, “We are refunding the overcharged money to Covid patients. To date, we have refunded around ₹25 lakh to 28 patients. As far as the three directors are concerned, one director Dr Deepak Tyagi is already under suspension, and we are holding a board meeting to decide the further course of action.” Hindustan Times