Maharashtra government has decided to acquire 80% of beds in private hospitals for intensive care unit treatment like cancer, Covid-19 and other diseases. The government hopes to acquire 6,000 beds in private hospitals across Mumbai this way. Patients would be admitted for these beds through a centralised vascular system. The charges for the oncosurgery will e foxed according to the Tata Memorial hospital charges. A government official said, “We will fix the fees after considering costs related to infection control, consultancy and nursing.
Hospitals can charge separately for PPE (personal protective equipment),” if the worth of PPE is Rs.100, the hospital cannot charge a patient quite Rs.110, the official added.
According to Public Health Minister, Private hospitals will have to follow GIPSA (General Insurance Public Sector Association) rates for these 80 per cent beds. And those hospitals which are not part of GIPSA will follow state rate chart. Several hospitals across Mumbai which are not part of GIPSA will follow the rates decide by the government. According to the govt rates, PPE can’t be charged at quite 10 per cent above the procurement cost. Also, the cost of dialysis has been fixed at Rs 2,500, bilateral knee replacement at Rs 2.4 lakh, cataract at Rs 25,000 and normal delivery at Rs 75,000.
According to the officials, the move to take 80 per cent of the beds in private hospitals will solve two problems. Provide the government with more beds for the treatment of positive COVID-19 patients and will other diseases and will also give the poor access to private healthcare centres during the pandemic. Officials have cleared that of the 80 per cent of the beds, 2,600 beds and 471 ICUs will cater to Covid-19 patients, 3,000 beds will be used by those with other illnesses.
The approval offers a breather to public hospitals, which are already stretched to capacity. The city has 30,000 beds across its private and public hospitals capable of providing critical care. Nearly 22,000 of these will now be preserved.
