Time of death to decide hospital bills: AAP govt
DRAFT POLICY Delhi proposes sweeping changes in cost of procedures, drugs at hospitals
NEWDELHI: The Delhi government on Monday issued a draft policy with sweeping changes in charges levied by private hospitals in the city, including a controversial provision for a partial bill waiver if a patient dies within a day of being taken to a hospital emergency.
Under the draft policy, which will be open for suggestions from the public for a month, if a patient dies within six hours of being taken to a hospital emergency, 50% of the cost of treatment will be waived. If the death occurs within 24 hours, 20% of the total bill amount will be waived.
“There have been a lot of complaints of overcharging and malpractices in private hospitals. This policy will help increase transparency,” Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain told media.
“The maximum number of feuds happens when the patients die within the first few hours and the relatives are handed a huge bill. We have suggested that the hospitals waive off 50% of the cost on humanitarian grounds as 50% covers the cost of consumables Hospitals must disclose
they can charge only 50% of the rate beyond mentioned package
If a patient dies in an emergency room or casualty department within six hours of admission, the hospital will
For a death between six and 24 hours after admission, the hospital will waive off 20%
Hospitals can offer
charging patients 20% more than the normal package to cover the cost of potential complications
and medicines,” added Dr KK Aggarwal, former president of the Indian Medical Association and a member of the panel that proposed the policy aimed at capping profits of private hospitals.
The new draft policy urges doctors to prescribe drugs from the 376 medicines on the National List of Essential Medicines Hospitals must preferably
on National List of Essential Medicines, for which Union government fixes prices For these medicines, hospitals can only charge
whichever is less. Same will be applicable for consumables & disposables For hospitals can charge either MRP or a 35% mark-up on purchase price, whichever is less A sub-committee has been constituted for capping (NLEM), the prices for which are fixed by the Union government. For drugs not on the essential list, hospitals can charge either the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) or a mark-up of 50% on the purchase price, whichever is less, it says.
The same applies to all disposables and consumables such as gloves, syringes and cotton swabs. For surgical implants, the hospitals can charge MRP or a 35% mark-up on purchase price, whichever is less. The policy also says that hospitals must list the cost of various treatment packages and counsel the patients on the expected complications and the added cost, if they happen. An additional surgery or procedure performed on the patient should cost only 50% of original cost. In case of complicated cases, the hospitals may prepare high-risk packages, which can cost 20% more than normal packages.
The advisory also said that any private hospital or nursing home shall not refuse treatment to any patient brought in emergency condition. It said they no dead body can be detained in the hospital for want of non-payment of dues. In order to bring about these changes, the Nursing Homes Registration Rules that govern all private hospitals and nursing homes will have to be amended to include the provisions. This will require the Delhi government to clear the proposal in its Cabinet and send it to the Lieutenant-governor for clearance.