Kochi: The Kerala High Court has said that the government should intervene to rationalise the Covid treatment charges at the private hospitals.
The HC orally directed that only the actual cost should be charged for medicines and tests. The same should be followed for PPE kits as well. The government had issued an order last year, fixing the room rent for private hospitals. However, several hospitals were not following this, the court said.
The government should formulate a clear policy. The case will be considered during a special sitting on Thursday.
Focus on…
The court directed that the government should give special focus on these four matters:
1. Room rent
2. Professional charge of nurses and doctors. Though the court is aware that this rate would vary depending on the hospital and doctors, there seems to be a big difference.
3. Costs for facilities, including ventilator. The government has not fixed the price for this.
4. PPE kit
How many PPE kits for a person per day?
The court pointed out that the PPE Kit was being charged as if for each patient, there was one doctor and a nurse. If there are 50 patients, the situation is such that all of them will have to pay for two PPE kits daily. Do not charge individually for what is being commonly used.
