TN govt caps COVID-19 treatment charges in pvt hospitals

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday capped the charges for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals at Rs 15,000 per day in Intensive Care Units across the state and announced that no fee over and above the fixed slab can be claimed from patients. In private sector hospitals, the per-day charges for treatment in ICUs shall not exceed Rs 15,000 and in general wards, for asymptomatic people and those with mild symptoms, the maximum is Rs 7,500, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said in an official release.

"Chief Minister K Palaniswami has ordered the ceiling for COVID-19 treatment charges," the Minister said. For the purpose of fixing the upper limit on rates, hospitals have been categorized based on factors like amenities and for the first two levels of Grade A1 and A2 hospitals, the maximum allowable per day fee in general ward and ICU are Rs 7,500 and Rs 15,000 respectively.

In the next two levels of hospitals that fall under Grade A3 and A4, the ceiling for charges per day in the general ward and the ICU are Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000. Following patients' complaints of exorbitant fees in private hospitals for COVID-19 treatment and media reports over the issue, a panel headed by Health Secretary Beela Rajesh submitted a report to the government on permissible charges for private hospitals, the release said.

The government, considering the report has fixed the upper limit. "The charges that have been announced are the maximum.

No fee over and above the permitted charges can be collected from the patients," the government said. During these times of the pandemic, both the government and private hospitals shall work together and people's welfare initiatives like fixation of rates will further augment COVID-19 treatment initiatives, the government said.

On Thursday, the government had announced the rate card for COVID-19 treatment under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme in authorized private hospitals in the State. The maximum payable rate per day by the government to private hospitals on behalf of people availing COVID-19 treatment is Rs 5,000 for the general ward (for asymptomatic people and those with mild symptoms) and in the Intensive Care Unit, it is between Rs 9,000 and Rs 15,000.

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