COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and choose to get treated in private hospitals in Tamil Nadu will need to pay a maximum of Rs 7,500 per day, as per the state government norms.

The government of Tamil Nadu, on Saturday, 6 June, announced price caps for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals in the state. As per the newly fixed rates, private hospitals have been categorised into four groups - A1, A2, A3 and A4 - based on the number of beds and doctors available in the hospital.

For private hospitals in categories A1 and A2, the prices chargeable per day for treatment of COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms is Rs 7,500, while the amount chargeable by hospitals in A3 and A4 categories is Rs 5,000 per day of treatment.

The price cap on treatment costs was done after media reports that COVID-19 patients were getting ‘fleeced’ at private hospitals.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also written to the state Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh about the costing involved in the treatment of COVID-19 by private hospitals. In the letter, the IMA had recommended that private hospitals be allowed to charge Rs 2.31 lakh for ten days of treatment to COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate infection and Rs 4.31 lakh for patients with severe infections. This means the hospitals could charge upto Rs 23,000 per day for treating mild to moderate COVID-19 patients and Rs 25,353 per day for patients with severe COVID-19 infection.

(This story was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)