Navi Mumbai hospital asked to reduce bill of COVID patient by Rs 1.30 lakh

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has ordered a private hospital to reduce bill of a Covid patient in Nerul by Rs 1.30 lakh.

In an audit and scrutiny report of the case, additional municipal commissioner said, “There is difference between the rates capped by Maharashtra government via its GR on May 21, and the bill generated by the Sunshine Hospital for the patient named Nivrutti Kurhade.

The hospital has overcharged for PPE, sanitization, bio-medical waste, bed charges and for Pathological lab. Thus, the hospital should reduce 1 lakh 30,000 from the bill.”

Rupesh Kurhade, the patient’s son, told Mumbai Mirror, “My father was supposed to get discharged after 20th day of admission. For two days, the hospital refused to discharge him, and asked us to pay the full bill amount. We could not afford it, and we felt we were overcharged.”

Dr R S Inamdar of the Sunshine Hospital, however, said that the patient’s family was fully informed about the course of treatment and approximate cost of treatment. “The patient was on ventilator for 17 days. We have administered 11 Remdesevir doses for Covid-19 treatment to the patient. The biomedical waste volume has increased and per KG cost is coming on the hospital.”

Dr Inamdar also said that there are 39 beds and this is a Covid-dedicated private centre. “We did give Rs 1.50 lakh concessions to this particular patient as he was not affording the treatment cost. I only suggested them to visit the NMMC. We are giving services when other private hospitals are charging exorbitantly.”

Advocate Ajay Tapkir of Prahar Sanghatna has written to NMMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar raising the issue of overcharging by hospitals. “We have been receiving many complaints against private hospitals in Navi Mumbai, and have been constantly bringing all these cases to the notice of commissioner. If this situation doesn’t improve then we are going to protest.”

On the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, family members of the patients and the members of Prahar Sanghatna sat at the NMMC office for five hours to get the bill audit report in writing. “Earlier, the commissioner had given an oral order, but the hospital refused to follow it,” Tapkir said.

On August 12, the NMMC commissioner had issued showcause notices to ten private hospitals demanding an explanation for the discrepancies in the bills. The NMMC has set up a committee to look into the complaints of patients regarding private hospitals in the first week of July.

A four-member committee was appointed after several complaints of Covid-19 patients and non-Covid patients of exorbitant medical bills from private hospitals.

Aggrieved citizens can send their complaints or write to NMMC about discrepancies in medical bills at moh@nmmconline. com . They can call NMMC at 022- 27567261 in office time or they can submit hardcopy of the complaints.

Maharashtra government’s May 23 GR on capping medical bills in private hospitals clearly states general ward, ICU, ventilator, nurses’ and doctors’ visits charges and basic blood test charges. But hospitals are charging extra, for instance for one PPE it charges around Rs 1,200 per patient. The blood test, nurse visit, diet food chrges are adding more amount to the bill. – Mumbai Mirror