The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray has approved a notification to fix the cost of Covid treatment in private hospitals, which will curb overcharging. The rates have been fixed by classifying the cities, a media statement issued by the Chief Minister Office said on Tuesday evening.
In a regular hospital ward, the per-day charge for Class A cities would be ₹4,000, ₹3,000 for Class B cities and ₹2,400 for Class C cities. The charge includes the necessary patient care, nursing, tests, medication, cost of beds and meals. The cost of the Covid test has to be paid at a fixed rate by the patients. Only major tests and investigations, as well as high-level drugs, are excluded from the charge, the statement said.
The private hospitals can charge ₹9,000 for Class A cities, ₹6,700 for Class B cities and ₹5,400 for Class C cities for ICU with ventilator treatment. For only ICU treatment, the charge would be ₹7,500 for Class A cities, ₹5,500 for Class B cities and ₹4,500 for Class C cities, the statement said.
Class A cities include Mumbai and metropolitan areas (excluding Bhiwandi, Vasai-Virar), Pune and Pune metropolitan areas and Nagpur (Nagpur Municipal Corporation area, Digdoh, Wadi), the statement said.
The statement said that Class B cities include Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati, Bhiwandi, Solapur, Kolhapur, Vasai-Virar, Malegaon, Nanded and Sangli. Class C covers all districts except Class A and B cities.
The Chief Minister also directed all the concerned District Collectors and Municipal Commissioners for strict and effective implementation of the notification, the statement added.