Maha: HC stays notification fixing maximum rates for non-COVID patients

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday stayed the Maharashtra government's notification of May 21 which has fixed the maximum rates that private hospitals can charge for treatment of non-COVID-19 patients.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday stayed the Maharashtra government's notification of May 21 which has fixed the maximum rates that private hospitals can charge for treatment of non-COVID-19 patients. The state's notification fixed the maximum rates that private hospitals and nursing homes could charge for the treatment of both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.

The notification was re-issued on August 31, and the state had said that the maximum rates would be in effect till November 30 this year. However, Pradeep Arora, a pediatrician from Nagpur, filed a petition, challenging the portion of the notification that fixed treatment rates for non-COVID patients.

A bench of justices Ravi Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala then directed the state government to clarify how it had the power to fix treatment rates for non-COVID patients in private hospitals and nursing homes. On September 15, the bench granted a "last chance" to the Maharashtra government to file its reply and warned that if no reply was filed, it would stay the notification for regulating prices for non-Covid patients.

On Friday, the state informed the bench that it was yet to file its reply as it had moved an application before the principal bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta seeking that the present plea be tagged with some other petitions filed in HC seeking similar relief. The bench led by Justice Deshpande then scheduled the next hearing on the matter for September 29.

"However, in the meantime, we stay the effect of operation of Clause 4 (rates for treatment of non COVID patients) of the notification dated 21.05.2020," it said.