Politicians target Delhi hospital for Rs 1.8 crore COVID bill, hospital gives explanation, check out

The 51-year-old male patient was admitted to Max Hospital, Saket, on April 28 and was released on September 6. While Congress` Manish Tiwari and AAP MLA Somnath Bharti questioned the hospital for the bill, the hospital said that it was a complicated case and the `patient and his family were satisfied with the care and treatment received`

New Delhi: Congress MP Manish Tewari on September 8 had written to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and urged him to seek an explanation from Max Healthcare after it charged a COVID patient ₹1.8 crore for more than a fouth-month stay. 

In a letter to the Ministry of Health, Tiwari said an explanation should be sought from the hospital as to why a a patient was charged Rs 1.8 crore. He also said that the Delhi government should do the same, and conduct an equiry, adding that there's a need to "set up independent regulator for health and pharmaceuticals industry".

But the matter came to light when a day earlier, on September 7, Aam Admi Party MLA Somnath Bharti had also slammed the hospital in few of his tweets. "What's the maximum you have heard a hospital charging for curing corona? Rs 25 lakh? Rs 50 lakahh? No, it's whopping Rs 1.8 crore!" he wrote on Twitter tagging Max Hospital, Saket. He wrote that the hospital charged this unbelievable amount "to a wife for her husband and then shouted at her when she took my help to ask for a discount. Heartless!"

The MLA said that the wife had spent all her savings and possibly sought financial help to pay for this fat medical bill. He condemned the behaviour of the hospital's group head, who he accused of berating the woman, and allegedly saying that the family should be grateful that they saved the patient and not complain of the bill.

The patient, a 51-year-old man, had to be hospitalised for more than four months - he was admitted in April-end and was released in the first week of September this year.  A statement by Max Healthcare stated,  "The 51-year-old male patient was brought into the Emergency of Max Hospital, Saket on April 28, 2021 suffering from severe Covid pneumonia. He was soon shifted to the ICU. As his health continued to deteriorate he was initiated on ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) on May 10, 2021 in order to prevent further damage to his COVID-impacted lungs. The patient was managed on ECMO in an awake state for nearly 75 days. The case was extremely challenging as the patient was diabetic, hypertensive and developed multiple complications such as gall bladder infection, weakness and clotting in lower limbs, loss of brain function owing to the liver dysfunction and sepsis. He was taken off the ECMO on July 23, 2021 but the patient continued to stay in the ICU till August 16, 2021. The patient remained hospitalised for almost 4 and half months and was discharged on September 6, 2021. ECMO is a highend and niche technology, available only at selected hospitals across the country and used only in severe heart/lung damage cases. The patient’s family was apprised of his medical condition and counselled regarding the cost of treatment regularly. The patient and his family were satisfied with the care and treatment received and expressed their appreciation for Max Saket’s multi-disciplinary team of senior clinicians and staff. "