Treating each COVID-19 patient costs up to Rs 3 lakh

The government is spending between Rs 1.40 and Rs 2.8 lakh for the treatment of a single Covid-19 patient in the state, experts said. The price variation is due to the diverse range of Covid-19 treatments, explained senior doctors across a variety of Covid-designated hospitals contacted by DH.

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“There is no one-fit-all financial figure for Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment in the state because there are a variety of factors dictating treatment, such as whether a patient is in ICU and what the duration of treatment is,” said Dr C Nagaraja, director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD).

According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, of the 271 people discharged, the majority (46 people) have spent 22 days in hospital quarantine and care.

A survey of hospital costs by DH across various Covid-19-designated hospitals in Bengaluru has revealed that the cost of care for non-ICU patients ranges from Rs 10,000 to 20,000 in government hospitals per day. There is a 55% cost increase for ICU care. There are currently seven patients in ICUs in the state.

According to one senior doctor, standard Covid-19 bed charges at most hospitals cost nearly Rs 8,000 per day. However, at Victoria Hospital which currently houses 58 out of 67 active Covid-19 cases in the city, bedding costs amount to about Rs 3,000 per patient and about Rs 8,000 for a patient in the ICU, according to another senior doctor at the hospital, who clarified that these are government-subsidised rates. “At other Covid hospitals, including at RGICD, rates are much higher,” the doctor said.

Medicine costs additionally between Rs 500 and 4,000 per person per day, various Covid doctors said. Other expenses are: patient food, a 15% increase in the salaries of Group D workers (an average of 10 of whom are on shift at any given time at Victoria) and other miscellaneous costs.

Testing, ambulances

The cost of care also includes testing, as two negative tests results are required before a patient can be discharged. Conducting each test, according to the Minister of Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar, costs the exchequer Rs 3,200, including the cost of PPE kits for testing staff, plus the associated costs of running an RNA extractor, plus the actual RT-PCR test itself.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

Ambulance fees also figure in tallies. An official at 108 Ambulance said that each Covid-related trip amounts to an additional Rs 2,400 over the standard rate of Rs 1,400. “This is due to PPEs, N95 masks, a Rs 500 hazard pay bonus for ambulance staff, plus sanitisation costs,” he said.

Value of PPEs

Although the move towards indigenous manufacturing of PPE kits, from Chinese units costing Rs 1,500, was intended to drive down costs, the government still mandates the price of a single PPE at Rs 1,250, although some are available at Rs 800, a source said.

The PPEs have a use-lifespan of only four hours and the cost of maintaining a stockpile adds up, added a senior doctor at Victoria Hospital. “This is all tied in with patient care costs,” the doctor said.

Dr K Sudhakar said the government has not sanctioned a detailed assessment to determine how much it costs per person per treatment, because the state is focused more on saving lives.