The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has urged everyone to lodge complaints if any health institution charges more than the fees set by the government for the treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus.
The ministry has mentioned that such complaints can be filed at the Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS), provincial Ministry of Social Development, District Administration Office or at the local level.
Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, Joint Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population, said that the ministry has issued this notice asking people to lodge complaints at the abovementioned offices as there have been many incidents of some health institutions charging more than the fees set by the government to treat patients infected with COVID-19.
The government has fixed the fees that health institutions can charge for treatment of COVID patients. The rate for normal type of sickness has been fixed at Rs 3,500 per day while that for medium type of sickness has been set at Rs 7,000 a day. Meanwhile for serious type of sickness the fees that health institutions can charge has been fixed at Rs 15,000 per day.
However, the government is providing free treatment for patients infected with the coronavirus in government hospitals and some private hospitals with whom it has signed an agreement. Meanwhile, if any patient wants to receive treatment through their personal resources then health institutions can charge 50 per cent more than the government-fixed rates.
The Health Ministry has also asked the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies to monitor whether health institutions have been abiding by the rates fixed by the government for the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19. Dr Adhikari informed that the MoHP has also urged the MoICS to take action against those health institutions that have been charging more than the fixed rates.
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