Lekha G
A Plea has been filed in the Supreme Court by Advocate Sachin Jain seeking nationwide cost related regulations for treatment of Covid-19 patients at private hospitals.
The Petitioner contended that the hospitals were commercially exploiting the patients and making a“Fortune out of their miseries in the hour of national crisis”.
The Plea sought directions for private hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients pro-bono in cases where the hospital has been built on public land or is categorized under charitable institutions.
The plea argued that tariffs of other private hospitals should also be regulated by Centre on fixed cost basis to preserve the human life.
The plea further appealed to bear medical expenses of poor and vulnerable affected with Covid-19 who neither have insurance nor have any coverage under government health schemes like Ayushman Bharat.
The petition also urged the Court to direct Centre to battle commercialization of private health sector and identify individuals and hospitals involved in black marketing of essential health services at time of an outraging pandemic.
The plea further stated that private hospitals charging exorbitant fee is a matter of concern not only for the patients but also a matter of grave concern for the insurance industry as even with “No surgical interference” the billing by private hospitals are highly inflated and unreasonable.
The plea read, “It therefore becomes expedient for the State to promptly combat the commercial exploitation by private hospitals and bring in place adequate regulations on the tariff structure for regulating the private hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients, to make them affordable and accessible with a view to preserve human life which is of paramount consideration”.
The petitioner also cited cases such as Moolchand Kharaiti Ram Trust & Parmanand Katara v. Union of India stating that the Court itself had denounced exploitative and commercial tendencies of private hospitals and placed prominence to save lives first on healthcare sectors including private hospitals respectively.