IMA demands to reconsider capping rates for Covid treatment

Aurangabad, June 8:

The Indian Medical Association (IMA, Aurangabad Chapter) has demanded to reconsider capping rates for Covid treatment on priority. The association claimed that the fixed charges were imposed upon the private hospitals. It is hard to operate and manage the hospitals at these rates. Unfortunately, if the third wave arrives then the hospitals would not be able to serve the patients with the old rate.

The hospitals are treating Covid patients as per the charges fixed by the state government since April 2020. The issue of inflated and unaffordable bills is related to big and corporate hospitals and it is going on for the past two decades. The hospitals affiliated with IMA collect appropriate bills. The fixation of average charges by the government is an injustice upon the small and medium-sized hospitals, claimed the IMA president Dr. Santosh Ranjalkar and secretary, Dr. Yashwant Gade.

The IMA pointed out a few serious lacunae in the notification released by the state government. They are (1) No relevance between the fixed rates and the actual expenditure spent by the hospitals.

(2) The notification of rates had been imposed through government officers without undertaking a study on details of actual expenditure made during the treatment of Covid patients.

(3) There is a huge difference in expenditure spent on Covid Management, during the treatment and other than it. This difference has been overlooked. It is illogical and wrong management to set charges on the basis of health insurance.

(4) The government had fixed the charges of PPE, masks, and oxygen. However, the expense made on them is more than the fixed charges and on other various issues. The financial burden falls upon the hospitals.

(5) The oxygen is given to the patients through ventilators, HFNO, etc. Hence the requirement of oxygen in this different system is also not given a thought while finalising the rates.