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The Karnataka Government has fixed a tariff structure for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals in the state. A government notification for the same was issued by Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar on Tuesday. Importantly, these price caps will not be applicable for the patients subscribing to insurance packages as well as for the agreements entered into between the hospitals and corporate entities.
For those patients referred to a private hospital by a public health authority- the cost per day for general ward will be Rs 5,200, for high dependency wards it will be Rs 7,000, for isolated intensive care units (ICUs) will be Rs 8,500 and the same with ventilator support will be Rs 10,000
For other patients who directly go to private hospitals, general wards will cost Rs 10,000, high dependency wards will cost Rs 12,000, isolated intensive care units (ICUs) will cost Rs 15000 and the same with ventilators will cost Rs 25,000. All these costs are on a per-day basis.
According to data analysis by the State War Room, on average a patient needs 15 days to recover from the disease. This means the cost borne by individuals post-recovery is likely to be around Rs 1,80,000 even for a patient who just needs a high dependency ward.
The notification said given the unprecedented situation, all patients, irrespective of whether they belong to APL and BPL (above and below poverty level) category, including migrant workers and interstate returnees will be charged under the same rates.
These costs will be inclusive of all personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other consumables. An additional 10% may be charged for twin sharing wards & 25% more for a single room. There will be no price ceiling for suites.
However, in respect of unforeseen complications or surgeries and other comorbid conditions or pregnancy of CoVID-I9 patients, additional packages and pricing will apply.
50% capacity in Pvt hospitals to be reserved The notification said 50% capacity of all notified private hospitals will be reserved for COVID-19 patients who are referred by government health authorities.
While calculating 50% of the beds to be utilized by the Government patients, the number will be counted irrespective of the fact that the beds are located in general wards, sharing wards or in private wards, the notification said.
The notification further said that the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust will be the Nodal Agency for the settlement of claims.
Non-compliance of the order will attract punishment under the Disaster Management Act, warned the notification.
Source: NewsMinute
