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TN CM Scheme provides COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals: Here's all you need to know!

By alagu, 04 June, 2020
India, Tamilnadu, Chennai, Coronavirus, Nationwide lockdown

Hours after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has disclosed the estimated fee structure for the private hospitals to charge from the COVID-19 patients in Tamil Nadu, the state government has announced that people who are beneficiaries of the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme can also get treatment at the private hospitals at the package cost fixed by the scheme.

The announcement would bring relief to the beneficiaries of the health scheme in availing the treatment for COVID-19 at the private hospitals with the package cost prescribed by the government and the package cost would be valid only at the private hospitals recognized by the Chief Minister's scheme.

According to the press release, the health scheme has fixed Rs 5000 as the package cost for the treatment per day at the recognized private hospitals for the asymptomatic people and people with mild/moderate symptoms who are admitted at the general ward. This package cost would apply for Grade A1, A2, A3, and A4 which represent the age categories of above 80, 71-80, 61-70, and 51-60 respectively and this package would include all the hospitalization charges.

 

If Grade A1 and A2 people are admitted at the Critical Care Units of the private hospitals, the government has fixed the package cost from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per day for these grades and for grade A3 and A4, the government has fixed the package cost from Rs 9000 to Rs 13,500 including all the hospitalization charges. These package costs for critical care and general ward would be released by the government to the concerned private hospital on behalf of beneficiaries.

Along with announcing the package costs, the state government has stipulated the guidelines for the private hospitals in which it has directed the recognized private hospitals to allot 25% of the in-patient capacity to the people who are getting admitted for COVID-19 treatment under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The government has also asked the people who are getting admitted under the scheme not to pay any charges to the private hospitals.

It has also warned the private hospitals that the recognition given by the health scheme would be repealed if the hospitals found to have violated the guidelines by exceeding the package cost and demand the patients to pay charges. The government has also provided the helpline number to report any grievance.

On Thursday, IMA's Tamil Nadu unit has provided the estimate fee structure for the private hospitals to the government after the private sector hospitals criticized for charging exorbitant fees from the COVID-19 patients. According to the IMA, it has prescribed the government that the corporate private hospitals can charge Rs 23,000 per day from the patients who are reported with mild/moderate symptoms. 

This estimate is only for the hospital charges including accommodation, administrative charges, pharmacy, equipment, consumables, and investigations. Apart from these charges, the IMA has estimated that the doctor's consulting charges, quarantine, and food expenses for doctors and other staff working in the designated COVID centers would cost around Rs 9,600 per day which would also be endured on the patients. It can be learned that the patient with mild symptoms would pay at least Rs 30,000 per day in private hospitals for getting treatments for the pandemic.

Must read: Availing COVID-19 treatment in TN private hospitals? You have to pay Rs 23,000 per day!

 

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