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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | CAG faults top private charitable hospitals for billing poor patients -Sumitra Deb Roy

CAG faults top private charitable hospitals for billing poor patients -Sumitra Deb Roy

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published Published on Aug 22, 2016   modified Modified on Aug 22, 2016
-The Times of India

Mumbai: In an audit of 11 leading private charitable hospitals in the city, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found that seven were wrongly billing poor patients and charging hefty deposits during admission. Most hospitals reserved less than the stipulated number of beds for the poor, thereby depriving many of quality healthcare. The charity commissioner too has been pulled up for bad implementation of the scheme.

The state government has been asked to initiate action against Bombay, P D Hinduja, Lilavati, Saifee, Kokilaben Ambani, Breach Candy, Sushrut and Thane's Bethany hospitals for failing to extend requisite facilities in lieu of the FSI and land concessions granted to them. On directions of the Bombay high court, the charity commissioner of Maharashtra in 2006 had framed a scheme for treatment of poor patients in reputed charitable hospitals.

Under the scheme, hospitals are supposed to set aside 10% of their beds for indigent patients and give concessions to another 10% from weaker sections. However, hospitals including Bombay, Lilavati, Saifee and Hinduja were also granted additional floor space index by the BMC on the promise that they would allocate 20% of total operational beds to below-poverty-line patients free of cost. The audit found that most availed of the FSI sop but did not allocate the extra 10% beds for poor. Most also did not make a 10% reservation for outpatient services as per the scheme.

The CAG report further pointed out that Kokilaben and Sushrut hospitals, which were given land at a concessional lease of Rs 1 per annum, did not increase their reservation limit for poor patients. Kokilaben Ambani Hospital provided only 10% of beds for free and concessional treatment instead of 15%. Executive director of the hospital Dr Ram Narain said, "We continue to treat 10% patients for free and 10% on concessional rates. We can comment once there is an official communication". Sushrut hospital, which was supposed to reserve 30% of its beds, only gave 10%.

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The Times of India, 21 August, 2016, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/CAG-faults-top-private-charitable-hospitals-for-billing-poor-patients/articleshow/53801266.cms


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