Maha caps charges for treatment of black fungus

The Maharashtra government yon Friday capped the charges for treatment of mucormycosis patients at private hospitals in the state. As per the notification, the state government has identified 28 types of surgeries for treating black fungus. In three-tier cities, the minimum charge for surgery has been fixed around `6,000, and the final amount can rise up to Rs one lakh, depending on the region and complexity of the treatment. The public health department on Friday issued a notification about these rates.

At present, the number of black fungus patients is rising in the state and there have been complaints about the exorbitant cost of treatment. Therefore, the state government has decided rates of treatment for the disease for private hospitals. The cities have been classified as A, But, and C with varying rates. No private hospital can charge more than stipulated by the notification.

The notification said that Ward Quarantine in Class A cities will be charged `4000, while Class B cities will charge `3000 and Class C cities will charge `2400. This includes care of patients, nursing, tests, medicines, bed charge and meals. Any specialized tests or higher medicines have not been included in this.

A senior official said that since surgery is crucial in the treatment of black fungus, we have identified 28 types of surgeries and expenditures for the surgeries. “The cost of surgery has been fixed. Expenditure for surgeries has been decided at a range from `10,000 to `1 lakh for an A-class city, from `7,500 to `75,000 for B class city and from `6000 to `60,000 for C class city,” the official added.