AMBULANCE RATE CAP

To discourage fleecing of Covid-19 patients, relatives

The Maharashtra Government has decided to crack the whip to rein in ambulance operators who are ''exploiting'' Covid-19 patients and relatives by charging inflated rates. It is expected to shortly issue a notification capping the charges of ambulance operators with a warning of stern action for non-compliance.

Doctors and voluntary organisations told FPJ that ambulance operators should not charge more than Rs 500 for transferring a Covid-19 patient in Mumbai. However, the government has received complaints that for even a distance of 200 meters the patient was charged Rs 8,000, while in other cases the amounts ranged between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000, since it was an emergency. Similar cases were reported in Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and other parts, where there is a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Minister of Public Health Rajesh Tope told FPJ, '‘The state government has decided to cap rates charged by the ambulance operators across the state. The district collectors will be authorised to requisition ambulances with or without drivers. They will pay them from the State Disaster Response Fund. It will be mandatory for the ambulance operators to charge as per the kilometer rate finalised by the RTO.’’ Further, GPS chips will be installed in these requisitioned ambulances to monitor their movement and discourage overcharging.

Tope said the decision to cap the ambulance rate was based on the recommendations made by a high-level committee headed by Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana CEO Sudhakar Shinde.

A Santacruz resident, Ameya Shandilya, recounted how he had to shell out Rs 10,000 to transfer his relative, who was Covid-19 positive, to a nearby private hospital. '‘Despite repeated appeals, the ambulance operator was reluctant to reduce the rate and refused to transfer the patient. I had no alternative but to pay the inflated rate.''

Indian Medical Association (Maharashtra) President Dr Avinash Bhondwe claimed that such fleecing by the ambulance operators was a crime against humanity.