"New treatment norms pull plug on inflated medical claims" Business Standard, Bangalore Edition on the 3rd of December 2007. Folks if you get a chance, just read through it. It gives amazing insights into what are the actual average costs incurred for treatment of around 35 common diseases in Hospitals of different sizes as researched by the Armed Forces medical college, Pune. The article is what prompted me to dash off this one between a lunch break and a Management Communication class!
The author remembers (although he prefers to forget) a harrowing experience that he and his friends had 2 weeks back. It was a Saturday evening and we were planning to go out for dinner. We were in a friend's car and were just crossing the Bannerghatta Road in front of the IIM campus when a speeding motorcycle with a licenseless, helmetless rider and a drunk pillion rider rammed against the driver side door of the car. Yours truly remembers a deafening sound, the vehicle shaking and fibre glass being showered on him. Well, the driver side door got screwed with its windows and all accessories. The guy who was riding the bike had cuts on his neck and face which were bleeding profusely. The car driver had an injury on the forehead. The pillion rider was nowhere to be seen....So much in a few seconds!!
Well, there are 2 big hospitals opposite IIM Bangalore and the junta that had gathered sent the bike rider to one of them. My driver friend was also taken there. Now the real story begins....
The Hospital (a very prominent one with a number of branches all over India) took both patients into emergency. As first aid was being administered to both the patients, doctors said my friend needs a few stitches on the forehead. A while later, the Doc attending the Bike rider comes and tells us that he is critical and would need an immediate surgery. He asks us to pay a deposit at the reception if they are to proceed with his treatment. I mean the whole thing was not our mistake in the first place. We were angry for a screwed car, an injured friend and a spoilt evening. On top the hospital wanted us to pay for the person whose carelessness caused the whole thing. We say no way.
A while later, 3 doctors come one after the another and psyche out a friend of mine saying that the biker guy's life is in our hands.. every moment we hesitate to pay the guy is gonna die.. why dont we allow his treatment to be started n all that.. Well, when he came and said this to us, we thought .. well ok.. If that guy dies or something we would always think that we could have a saved a life and we chose not to.. so we went to the reception to pay the deposit.. the lady at the billing smiles and says "Pay at least 35000 rupees sir!'.. WTF.. 35000!!!... Another friend of mine paid the amount. On hindsight, we should have asked the doctors what their duty was.. If they were so concerned about a patient, why do they insist on someone paying the amount and not start treatment right away and then bother about the money!!. They said he was gonna die!!!
Walking back to emergency, after making the payment, we overheard the surgeon tell a doc that the Bike rider's wounds were superficial and would need some stitches. thats all!!!.. We could have killed someone then and there.. we fumed.. nothing could be done now... For my driver friend they claimed they did a plastic surgery for the 0.5 inch cut and billed 2550.. Well, it turns out they just put some normal stitches..Not even the ones where the thread would dissolve into the skin after a while.. these had to be painfully removed!!!... B*s*a*ds!!
Next day, we went to enquire if anything was left of the 35000 "deposit"... well, there is no standard charges that apply to these procedures in this hospital... the Doc says what he wants.. te hospital takes what they want.. finally they told us almost 30000 has been used.. the guy is in Surgical ICU which would make the bill 35000 by end of day.. A guy who had a few stitches on the neck for some superficial injuries was put in a Surgical ICU!!!
The guy's family was extremely poor.. the hospital guys knew there was no way to extract more money.. so they just finished off the 35000.. well, they would have done this otherwise also.. may be not so quickly.
When a patient is brought into THIS hospital, he is first asked if he has a medical insurance. Depending on the answer, the lines that the treatment takes differ. If the patient has an insurance, the bill is a 5 times multiple of the usual, for the same treatment that is done!!.. and the patient is repeatedly said "You don have to pay anything.. coz u r covered by Insurance.." The poor patient signs a number of forms so that "he does not have to pay anything".. what a way to make money!!.. an Advocate who I talked to recently on some other matter was telling me that the courts have begun to take notice of this Medical Insurance racket!!...
Well, emergency situations are when no one cares about how much the hospital is charging or how much the doctors are asking.. we want our loved one to be out of danger as fast as possible.. exactly the same emotions that are exploited by hospitals like these... so much in the name of Humanity and Service!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
its true,there is no std scale by which private hospitals charge their fee,n those having insurance nvr realize the pit they fall into when they sign those pprs,it takes a hell lot more than a visit to ur insurance agent to claim the money.....So,did ur friend get back the 35grand.I guess not!!!So much for humanity....
Post a Comment