Haryana government caps prices for treatment of COVID-19 patients at private hospitals

The Haryana government on Friday capped the prices for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals in the state. This decision was taken after studying the recommendations of the committee under NITI Aayog member Dr.VK Paul, the financial viability of private hospitals, and the precedents in other states such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Telangana. For non- National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) accredited hospitals, the maximum daily charges are Rs.8,000 for isolation beds including supportive care and oxygen, Rs.13,000 for ICU without ventilator care and Rs.15,000 for ICU with ventilator care.

On the other hand, NABH-accredited hospitals can charge up to Rs.10,000 for isolation beds including supportive care and oxygen, Rs.15,000 for ICU without ventilator care, and Rs.18,000 for ICU with ventilator care. Currently, there are 12,463 confirmed novel coronavirus patients in Haryana out of which 7380 patients have been discharged. 198 fatalities have been reported in the state until now. 

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Details of order

The prescribed rates for private hospitals shall be all-inclusive as a package. The rates will include but not be limited to all lab investigations, radiological diagnostics, monitoring charges, drugs, PPE, nursing care, doctor's visit, physiotherapy, procedural charges, transfusion of blood, equipment, etc. The costs of medical care for underlying co-morbid conditions will be a part of this package.

These rates will apply to paediatric patients as well. For pregnant women, the cost of the delivery and care of the newborn child is not included in the package. Moreover, the cost of COVID-19 diagnostic test and IL-6 levels will be charged separately. The beneficiaries of the PMJAY Ayushman Bharat scheme will avail treatment on a cashless basis. Meanwhile, the Haryana government has clarified that all COVID-19 beds shall be at fixed rates subject to the upper limit of 60% of the total hospital bed capacity. 

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In a heartening development, the recovered cases in India have exceeded the active COVID-19 cases by 96,173. With 13,940 COVID-19 patients being cured in the last 24 hours, the country's recovery rate surged to 58.24%. There are 1,89,463 active cases at present. Overall,  77,76,228 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in 737 government labs and 279 labs across the country. 

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