Telangana caps COVID-19 testing & treatment price at private clinics after HC order

After the Telangana High Court instructed State Public Health department, Telangana Health Department has capped up prices for COVID-19 treatment and testing charges at private hospitals and diagnostic centres. The private hospitals' management had requested the State government to revise the price cap fixed for COVID-19 treatment. This had occurred after Telangana High Court came down heavily on CM K Chandrashekar Rao-led government. 

Telangana caps price for COVID-19 testing and treatment at private clinics

In a circular dated June 22, the Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department stated that Telangana State Government constituted a committee to give recommendations for capping the said charges relating to "treatment in private hospitals/ nursing homes and capping of prices for conducting diagnostic tests and investigations for COVID-19".

Government vide the said circular dated June 22 stated that private hospital's price ceiling are as follows:

• Charges for Routine ward and Isolation should be capped at Rs 4000, 
• Charges for Intensive Care Unit without a ventilator but inclusive of isolation must be within Rs 7500. 
• While charges for ICU with ventilator and isolation should not exceed the amount of Rs 9000. 
• PPE Kits shall not be charged at a price exceeding Rs 273 per kit.

With regards to COVID-19 related investigations at diagnostic centres, the following ceiling is said to apply:

• High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) shall be priced at Rs 1995,
•  Interleukin-6 (IL-6) would be priced not more than Rs 1300,
• Digital X-Ray should be capped at Rs 300 only,
• While C-reactive protein (CRP) will be not more than Rs 500,
• D-Dimer would be priced at Rs 800,
• Ferritin will be tested at sum of Rs 400,
• LDH will exceed an amount of Rs 140 and
• Procalcitonin tests would be conducted within Rs 1400 cap. 

In respect of Ambulance services by private operators, the following cap must have been allowed by Telangana government:

• Ambulance charges per kilometre shall not exceed Rs 75 if the vehicle contains only a Basic life-supporting system and it would be priced at Rs 125 if the ambulance contains Advance life-supporting system.
• A minimum of Rs 2000 can be charged for a Basic life-supporting system and not more than Rs 3000 would be payable for Ambulance services with Advance life-supporting system. 

In the said circular, the State Government ordered that all private hospitals must adhere to time to time guidelines issued by the State or GOI. The hospitals were instructed to refrain from "experimental treatment, unnecessary investigations and inflammatory makers to be avoided".