Shillong, June 18: A consultative committee to examine the fees charged by the hospitals for Covid treatment was constituted by the state government on Friday.
The purpose of the committee is to examine and recommend reasonable rates of Covid-19 treatments.
The Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War will head the 10-member committee.
“We have decided to notify the consultative committee to address the problems faced by the people due to the exorbitant cost of treatment for Covid-19 in private hospitals,” Health Minister AL Hek told reporters after a review meeting.
He said the committee has been asked to come up with solutions to address the problems faced by citizens. “We have given the committee to complete the exercise within one week,” Hek added.
The Principal Secretary in-charge Health, Sampath Kumar said in the notification that the committee was constituted in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to ensure that private hospitals in the state cater to Covid-19 patients at fixed and inexpensive rates.
It said the committee will examine the current rates of Covid-19 treatment in different hospitals. It will also assess how the MHIS packages are being utilised by BPL and other beneficiaries.
The committee wants to ensure quality medical care to the Covid-19 patients who are admitted in the private hospitals taking into consideration the actual costs incurred in providing care service and also the additional investments created by the hospitals to expand the bed capacity like oxygen service, ICUs, ventilators to meet the surge during the pandemic.
