The Maharashtra government has decided to continue the reservation of 80 per cent beds in a private hospital and nursing homes till the next fortnight. These beds are reserved for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
What this implies is that the treatment cost for patients that occupy any of these 80 per cent beds reserved will continue to be capped till December 15. However, the state health officials said that it is unsure if they will be able to continue the reservation beyond December 15. Reason, fresh coronavirus cases have slightly dipped in the city and across the state, making patient management easier to handle in government hospitals.
Over the last few days, private hospitals have insisted on removing the reservation and treatment cost capping so that the latter can start admitting non-COVID patients and charge normal rates, said state health officials.
Presently, the state has fixed the prices for beds and personal protective equipment (PPE). According to the guideline, an ICU bed can’t be charged more than ₹7,500 per day and if a patient is on a ventilator the charges should not be more than ₹9,000 per day.
In a normal ward, the patients will be charged ₹600 per day. If a private hospital charges extra, it will have to justify the same.
The decision to have reserve beds was first passed in the month of May, almost a month after the lockdown. Later in August, it was announced that this reservation will be extended till November 30.
Earlier, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had directed private hospitals along with small nursing homes to admit patients suffering from COVID-19 to share the load.
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