Hospitals overcharging patients will have to refund with interest: Noida DM Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj

The DM demanded that action should be taken against the private hospitals which are involved in the matter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Picture credit: PTI

New Delhi: The District Magistrate of Noida, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, decided to take a firm stance on the pricing of COVID-19 medication and requested hospitals overcharging patients to refund the money with interest. 

In a meeting with the officials of the administrative and health department, the DM took this decision and added that hospitals doing good work will be encouraged.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was enraged on finding out about the  unauthorized over-pricing of services in private hospitals.

The DM demanded that action should be taken against the private hospitals in the district which are involved in the matter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To make sure this incident of exploitation does not occur again, the DM issues the strict rule that patients will be reimbursed with interest if it is found that the hospital had over-charged them for their services.

In addition, the Pandemic Public Grievance Committee was also constituted in the district to help identify and resolve such matters.

The committee is continuously disposing of complaints and also issues notices to private hospitals.

Meanwhile, six more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar, pushing its death toll to 434, while another five fatalities raised neighbouring Ghaziabad's count to 429 on Thursday, official data showed.

Together the two western UP districts adjoining Delhi have a death toll of 863, according to data released by the state's Health Department for a 24-hour period.

In terms of new cases, Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 133 more infections during the period. The district now has an overall case tally of 62,117 and 2,310 active cases, it showed.