HC issues notice on plea claiming private hospital overcharged Covid patient

Read Order: SUMAN JAIN v. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS 

LE Correspondent

Chandigarh, July 15, 2021: A Panchkula based resident, Suman Jain, has filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking relief by claiming that a private hospital overcharged her during the treatment of her mother who was suffering from Covid-19 and later succumbed to the disease.

A bench of Justice Lisa Gill issued notice to the hospital and the Haryana government. The matter will now be heard on October 25, 2021.  

The petitioner said her mother tested positive in June and was admitted in Panchkula’s Paras hospital. She remained admitted there for 12 days but could not be saved. The hospital raised an exorbitant bill to the tune of Rs 6.94 lakh for merely 13 days treatment, the petition said.

She came to know through media reports that the hospital in question had charged exorbitant amounts in bills from other patients as well and was forced to refund them after the intervention of the district authorities.

In one case, the hospital raised a bill of Rs 8 lakh and later had to reimburse half of it, the petitioner claimed.

She, however, said that she filed a complaint with the district authorities regarding overcharging by the private hospital but her complaint was not entertained on the ground that it is not covered by the government policy.