Home Health 641 hospitals in state overcharged for Covid therapy; Rs 14 crore refunded: Govt audit

641 hospitals in state overcharged for Covid therapy; Rs 14 crore refunded: Govt audit

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641 hospitals in state overcharged for Covid therapy; Rs 14 crore refunded: Govt audit

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Shedding mild on the scenario, state Health Minister Dr Tanaji Sawant revealed just lately within the state Assembly that out of 641 recognized hospitals at fault, 607 have been issued showcause notices, whereas 77 hospitals opted out of the scheme.

Mumbai Covid, Mumbai hospitals, Mumbai Covid treatment, Mumbai covid treatment charges, Govt audit, indian express newsUnder the state’s flagship initiative, sufferers falling under the poverty line (BPL), beneficiaries of the Annapurna scheme in addition to holders of orange and yellow ration playing cards are granted medical insurance coverage protection of Rs 1,50,000. (Express File Photo)

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In the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY), meant to assist economically deprived sufferers, an audit by the Maharashtra authorities has revealed that 641 hospitals overcharged for Covid-19 therapy. The audit adopted 32,000 complaints, leading to a refund of round Rs 14 crore to affected sufferers throughout Maharashtra.

Under the state’s flagship initiative, sufferers falling under the poverty line (BPL), beneficiaries of the Annapurna scheme in addition to holders of orange and yellow ration playing cards are granted medical insurance coverage protection of Rs 1,50,000.

To forestall the denial of care in non-public hospitals as a consequence of monetary constraints, the then state Health Minister Dr Rajesh Tope had declared free therapy below the scheme in the course of the Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020.
However, echoing earlier complaints from quite a few sufferers, empanelled hospitals breached MJPJAY guidelines by “charging more than the prescribed package.”

Shedding mild on the scenario, state Health Minister Dr Tanaji Sawant revealed just lately within the state Assembly that out of 641 recognized hospitals at fault, 607 have been issued showcause notices, whereas 77 hospitals opted out of the scheme.

The concern got here to the forefront in 2021 when a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighted that a number of needy Covid sufferers from BPL households have been being denied MJPJAY advantages. Responding to the PIL, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court criticised the state authorities for failure in implementing the scheme.

Responding to the court docket’s directive, the federal government established district-level grievance redressal cells, headed by respective Collectors, in 2021 in the course of the intense second wave of Covid-19. Dr Sawant confirmed that these cells obtained 31,703 complaints concerning extreme costs at non-public hospitals concerned within the state’s medical insurance coverage initiative.

“The state health department scrutinised all medical bills and reports. To date, 30,387 complaints have been resolved, while 1,316 remain pending,” Dr Sawant stated. Furthermore, adhering to the court docket’s directions, the general public well being division refunded Rs 13.77 crore to the affected sufferers.

The state authorities stated over 28 lakh Covid-19 sufferers obtained therapy below the MJPJAY scheme. However, individuals like Sunil Thale, a 36-year-old farmer from Palghar, needed to deplete his financial savings to cowl his spouse’s therapy value when empanelled hospitals declined to incorporate the BPL affected person within the scheme. “All government hospital beds were occupied (in October 2021). Consequently, I had to admit her to a private hospital with a bill of Rs 1.70 lakh. I had to borrow from my family,” Thale instructed The Indian Express earlier.

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A senior physician from a consortium of personal hospitals defined that the surge in the price of medicines and oxygen in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic made providing free therapy below the scheme unfeasible.

“Additionally, due to shortages of medicines and medical equipment, we had to place advance orders. Moreover, private hospitals are obligated to submit bills to the government within 15 days of treatment. This posed financial difficulties for us, particularly as the patient inflow had decreased by 80 per cent,” the official stated.
Overall, the state well being division had recorded 68,000 complaints from Covid-19 sufferers throughout Maharashtra about hospitals overcharging and denying therapy to them as of 2022.

A survey carried out by Jan Arogya Abhiyan together with Maharashtra Corona Ekal Mahila Punarvasan Samiti discovered that almost 75 per cent of Covid-19 sufferers who have been handled at non-public hospitals within the state have been overcharged regardless of a worth cap set by the Maharashtra authorities.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd

First printed on: 12-08-2023 at 01:13 IST



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