18 Sep 2020  |   04:46am IST

Capping of rates in private hospitals a ‘farce’

The State government’s move to cap the rate of COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals appears to be nothing short of a farce on the people of Goa, who have already been hurt badly by the pandemic.
Capping of rates in private hospitals a ‘farce’

As per the rates finalised in Goa, in a general ward with COVID charge patients can be charged Rs 12,000 per day, twin sharing will be capped at Rs 15,000 per day, private room single will be charged Rs 18,000 per day and ICU with ventilator occupancy would be Rs 25,000 per day. The rates include bed charges, nursing, resident doctor, diet, PPE kits for staff, routine medicines. Despite the huge amount, the package does not include diagnostic intensivist, specialist/intensivist charges, use of special drugs, use of special equipment, other special procedures/surgery etc and extra oxygen flow other then ICU.

Now consider this with the normal rates of private hospitals in Goa, where a ward bed is around Rs 1000 per day while a special room is around Rs 1500 to 2000 to 3500 in private hospitals. The intensive care units in the private hospitals differ from Rs 6000 to Rs 9000 or Rs 10,000 maximum. If a normal ICU is not more than Rs 10,000 why should the COVID-19 treatment in an ICU be capped at Rs 25,000? Why is the government, which claims to be trying to ease people’s problems, be so sympathetic to the private hospitals?

Right now, with the rising number of COVID-19 cases, none of the private hospitals have beds available for COVID-19 treatment. Even GMC and other hospitals appear to be running full. So does the government want private hospitals to earn from this lack of beds in the government facilities? All the politicians who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have got themselves admitted in a private hospital. Mind you, the bills of all Members of Legislative Assembly and Members of Parliaments are paid by the Parliament or the Legislatures. Hence their treatment is at the taxpayers cost and not their own. So while the people pay the exorbitant rates for the politicians, the private treatment is out of the common man’s reach?

Another important factor is that the government is still not clear whether the DDSSY cards will be accepted for treatment of COVID-19 in private hospitals. However, even if it does it would make very little difference as only one member of a family would be in a position seek treatment in a private hospital as the limit per family is Rs 4 lakh and at the above rates it would exhaust the limit for just one individual’s hospitalisation. Justifying the huge rates, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said that the common man is not forced to seek treatment in private hospitals as the government has made all facilities available at Goa Medical College, ESI COVID hospital etc. If that is so, if GMC and other government hospitals have the best of facilities or world class facilities as claimed by the government, then the CM should also tell the MLAs, Ministers and MPs to compulsorily get admitted in government hospitals and not in private hospitals, where the common man has to pay for their bills.

If private hospitals do not agree to subsidised rates during a pandemic, why should the government not take over the private hospitals that have facilities for COVID-19 treatment under the Epidemic Act? Even the Opposition in Goa appears to be absolutely quiet on the issue, when people have questioned the exorbitant rates capped by the government. Another question is, if bigger States like Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi can cap the ICU rates at Rs 15,000 or less, why can’t Goa?


IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar