Private Hospitals Freezes Charge of ₹15,000 Per Day for Covid-19 Treatment in Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday capped the charges for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals at ₹15,000 per day in Intensive Care Units across the state and announced that no fee over and above the fixed slab can be claimed from patients. In private sector hospitals, the per day charges for treatment in ICUs shall not exceed ₹15,000 and in general wards, for asymptomatic people and those with mild symptoms, the maximum is ₹7,500, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said in an official release.

"Chief Minister K Palaniswami has ordered the ceiling for COVID-19 treatment charges," the Minister said. For the purpose of fixing upper limit on rates, hospitals have been categorised based on factors like amenities and for the first two levels of Grade A1 and A2 hospitals, the maximum allowable per day fee in general ward and ICU are ₹7,500 and ₹15,000 respectively. In the next two levels of hospitals that fall under Grade A3 and A4, the ceiling for charges per day in general ward and the ICU are ₹5,000 and ₹15,000. Following patients' complaints of exorbitant fee in private hospitals for COVID-19 treatment and media reports over the issue, a panel headed by Health Secretary Beela Rajesh submitted a report to the government on permissible charges for private hospitals, the release said. The government, considering the report has fixed the upper limit.

"The charges that have been announced are the maximum. No fee over and above the permitted charges can be collected from the patients," the government said. During these times of the pandemic, both the government and private hospitals shall work together and people's welfare initiatives like fixation of rates will further augment COVID-19 treatment initiatives, the government said. On Thursday, the government had announced the rate card for COVID-19 treatment under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme in authorised private hospitals in the State. The maximum payable rate per day by the government to private hospitals on behalf of people availing COVID-19 treatment is ₹5,000 for general ward (for asymptomatic people and those with mild symptoms) and in the Intensive Care Unit, it is between ₹9,000 and ₹15,000.