An audit conducted among 17 private hospitals in Thane has revealed that a total of 17 hospitals in the region have overcharged patients admitted for COVID-19 treatment. It is said that patients were collectively overcharged up to ₹1.82 crores.
With this in mind, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has asked all the violating hospitals to give back the amount to the patients. The civic body appointed eight teams of auditors between July 10 and August 21 after receiving several complaints from citizens about this malpractice by the hospitals.
The auditors received 4,106 bills of COVID-19 patients from the 17 hospitals. Upon closer inspection, 1,362 bills were found to be exaggerated. Additionally, 3,347 bills have been scrutinized by the auditors.
Here are the 17 violating hospitals identified by TMC:
Vedant Hospital, Titan Hospital, Siddhi Vinayak Maternity Hospital, Arogya Multi-Specialty Hospital, Kaushalya Hospital, Thane Health Care Hospital, Metropol Multi-Speciality Hospital, Life Care Hospital, Panandikar Hospital, Swastik Hospital, Ekta Hospital, Bethany Hospital, Sapphire Hospital, Kalsekar Hospital, Wellam Hospital, Swayam Hospital and Diya Multi-Specialty Hospital.
Also Read - Recovery Rate In Thane Is Second Best In The Country
Officials have reportedly received complaints of patients being overcharged since June. The first institution to come under the scanner was Swastik Hospital in June. This came as the State Government sent out directives in late May that capped the prices of treatment while also reserving 80% of the hospital beds for coronavirus patients.
Following complaints from more patients, the TMC decided to take action on violating hospitals starting with Horizon Prime Hospital which was sealed for a month and restricted from treating COVID-19 patients. An audit had revealed that the hospital overcharged patients while also charging for PPEs and other protective gear.
TMC Commissioner, Dr Vipin Sharma said - “Our aim is to not stop these hospitals from functioning, as there is a huge burden on the health resources. We have instructed the hospitals to refund the money to patients, which is more important at this point.”
Also read - Shops In Thane Allowed To Open Seven Days A Week From August 15
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