Regulate 'exorbitant' fees charged by private hospitals: Gujarat High Court

Surat: The Gujarat High Court has asked the State government to take necessary steps to regulate the "exorbitant" fees charged by private hospitals which are authorised to treat coronavirus patients.The order was passed on Thursday by a division bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Ilesh Vora which took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of news reports about various issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, including high cost of treatment in private hospitals.

The bench warned private hospitals against charging high amount for treatment of COVID-19 patients.The HC, in its ruling, noted that some private hospitals authorised by the government to treat coronavirus patients in Ahmedabad are charging fees "running in lakhs of rupees and an ordinary man will never be able to afford to avail adequate treatment from a private hospital".

The bench directed the state government to ensure that private hospitals do not charge "exorbitant fees for the treatment of COVID-19 patients".Since state-run hospitals are almost full with COVID-19 patients, the bench stressed that the government should authorise more private medical facilities to treat such cases.