Health department to conduct surprise checks on pvt hospitals to curb overcharging for neonatal treatment: State health minister, ETHealthworld
Pune: Maharashtra health minister Prakash Abitkar informed the state assembly on Thursday that the health department will conduct surprise inspections of private hospitals to curb the practice of overcharging patients, especially for neonatal treatment.
The initiative will begin in Pune district, where the civil surgeon and the deputy health director have been tasked with leading the inspection teams.
Abitkar emphasised that transparency is mandatory for all private healthcare providers. “Private hospitals are required to display treatment charges prominently. Our surprise checks will verify if patients are being billed according to these displayed rates,” the minister said.
The govt’s announcement came after NCP (SP) MLA Bapu Pathare (Wadgaon Sheri) highlighted the plight of the economically weaker sections (EWS). Pathare noted that while premature deliveries are increasing, there is a severe shortage of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds in govt facilities.
“In Pune district, there are only 114 NICU beds across all govt hospitals,” Pathare stated. “Due to this shortage, families are forced to turn to private hospitals, where NICU bills can reach as high as Rs35 lakh.”
Joining the discussion, BJP MLA Namita Mundada demanded that the state govt introduce a price cap on NICU treatments in the private sector. She further suggested that the govt conduct mandatory clinical and billing audits to ensure hospitals do not exploit patients.
In response, Abitkar assured the House that a committee has already been formed to find ways to strengthen NICU infrastructure in state-run hospitals. “We will take further decisions on capacity building and regulation based on the committee’s upcoming report,” he said.
