Time of death to decide hospital bills: AAP govt

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,”Delhihealthminister 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 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 (NLEM), the prices for which are fixed by the Union government. For drugs not on the essential list, hospitals can charge either the MRP or a mark-up of 50% on the purchase price, whichever is less.

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.

NEWDELHI:The