Pune District Collector Warns Hospitals Of Legal Action For Overcharging COVID Patients

Pune, 1 September 2021: The district administration has audited the bills of more than 22,000 Corona patients and reduced them by Rs 17.34 crore. District Collector Dr Rajesh Deshmukh has warned that further cases will be registered against the hospitals about whom there are many complaints.

The role of the district administration has been a great relief to the relatives of the patients. During the Corona period, there was a huge wave of outrage against the exorbitant bills charged by hospitals. The Maharashtra state government had then fixed the rates for treatment on Coronavirus disease (COVID19) patients after realizing that private hospitals were charging unrealistic bills during the pandemic. It was mandatory for all hospitals to provide treatment at stipulated rates.

It was decided to audit the bills amounting to more than Rs 1.5 lakh levied by private hospitals. Squads have been appointed for this work in Pune city. These teams include Deputy Commissioners, Chartered Accountants, and Doctors.

Hospital-wise staff have been appointed to check the bills. Medical bills are being audited even before hospitals discharge patients. Patients or their relatives are supposed to make payments only after the bill is confirmed to be correct. The audit committee will continue to work in the third wave too.

The number of corona victims in Pune has come under control. As a result, the number of COVID patients has decreased. Therefore, complaints of increased bills have also come down. Hospitals should stop extortion of patients. Action has been demanded against such a hospital, said Dr Deshmukh.

“The committee will continue to audit medical bills in view of the possibility for a third wave of the pandemic. Regular audits have been carried out through the last year. There have been constant complaints against some hospitals. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the review meetings has instructed to take action against such hospitals. Cases will be registered against such hospitals from now on”, he further informed.