Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar on Monday donned the hat of a vigilante as he asked citizens to inform him about hospitals fleecing them with exorbitant rates during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Unfortunate that people battling Covid are also bearing the brunt of exorbitant bills from hospitals brazenly violating Supreme Court rules. This has to be stopped. Anyone facing this, tag me on Twitter & Facebook, I shall ensure the matter is looked into & action taken,” Shivakumar said.
Shivakumar has put together his own “personal team” that is reaching out to citizens sending SOS messages during the pandemic.
According to Shivakumar, the government has capped costs as follows: Covid patient ward in private hospitals at Rs 5,200 a day, HDU Rs 8,000 a day, ICU without ventilator Rs 9,750 a day, ICU with ventilator Rs 11,500 a day, X-Ray at a private diagnostic centre Rs 250, CT scan Rs 1,500 (BPL) and Rs 2,500 (general) and Remdesivir Rs 2,500.
The Congress leader accused the BS Yediyurappa administration of “patronizing a large racket of hospitals and service-providers” by overpricing facilities. “This is sheer profiteering at a time when humanity is battling a pandemic and it is criminal to say the least,” Shivakumar said in a statement. “Prices of hospitals in violation continue to skyrocket as does the suffering of the people. The BJP government is so complacent that it has turned a blind eye towards the misery of people, which makes us think they are complicit in this,” he said, adding that Yediyurappa was “unaffected and unbothered”.
(Published 24 May 2021, 11:07 IST)
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