A 67-year-old man, waiting for his COVID-19 result, landed at a city hospital in the hope of getting admitted. However, his family did not admit him, as the hospital handed them an estimated bill of Rs 9.09 Lakhs. The Hospital in the discussion is the Columbia Asia Hospital in Bengaluru.
The breakup of the bill
As per the concerned family, the bill was furnished with a breakup as follows: Rs 1.40 lakh for ventilator charges, Rs 3 lakh for medicines, medical supplies and consumables, Rs 2 lakh for laboratory investigations, Rs 75,000 for room rent. Rs 75,000 professional fee, Rs 58,500 for nursing charges, Rs 35,000 for radiology investigations and physiotherapy, Rs 25,000 equipment, and surgical items. The bill also mentioned that the amount was only an estimated one and if any complications, the amount could surge.
The family speaks about the incident
Talking about the huge estimation, a relative of the family said, ” My uncle was tested at St. John’s Hospital on Sunday and we were awaiting the swab test result. On Monday, he began gasping for breath at 2.30 pm. His oxygen saturation level was low. The hospital told us they have an ICU bed so we rushed him to the emergency there. They said he can be admitted and showed us this estimate bill and we were shocked.“
He added: “The hospital should not take leverage when emotions are running high. They need to subsidize the rates for COVID-19 suspect patients as well. In HBS we admitted him for Rs 25,000.” Regarding the news, Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar said that hospitals cannot charge this much and action will be taken against them.
Source: New Indian Express
