The high court has directed the state government to make private hospitals display Covid-19 treatment charges as well as the message that coronavirus patients, referred by the government, are not required to pay any charges.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay S Oka passed the orders on a PIL petition which stated that there are complaints that private hospitals are charging more than the prices fixed by the government through a notification dated June 23, 2020.
The court said that it would be appropriate for the government to also include that Covid patients, referred by the public health authorities to the private hospitals, are not required to pay any charges. And, such patients are also not required to pay any charges towards PPE and any consumables, the court said.
“The state government will issue necessary directions at the earliest. The state government will also place on record whether any redress mechanism is available in Covid-19 hospitals for complaining about non-compliance of what is stated on June 23, 2020 order. It will be appropriate to direct the private hospitals to mention the manner in which complaints can be filed regarding violations,” the court said.
The bench directed the government to place on record mechanism, if any, available to verify private hospitals’ claims for reimbursement of the amount.
The court also directed the government to respond to contention in another petition about the delay in issuing test reports by the laboratories.
“This issue needs to be addressed immediately by the state government as approximately more than one lakh tests are conducted every day, except on Sundays. The state government will have to respond on this limited aspect by Monday,” the court said.