Complaints of excessive billing in private hospitals are often raised due to which patients face problems. To address this problem, the Calcutta High Court directed the Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission to fix certain costs for private hospitals. The commission also sent a list to the state government seeking permission. And the regulatory commission was supposed to publish the rate chart only after getting that permission. But for the time being, the application of a private hospital in Kolkata was blocked.
An application has been filed in Calcutta High Court to join the case on behalf of Medica Super Specialty Hospital. The plea of the private hospital in that case is that if the rate chart is specified, there will be no difference between a normal nursing home and a super specialty hospital. High quality treatment is possible in super specialty hospitals. As a result, it is normal for medical expenses to be higher in that case. In such a case, if the rate chart is the same, they will be in trouble. Such an application has been made by the private super specialty hospital. However, the petitioner and the state counsel argued against the inclusion of the private super specialty hospital in the case. However, the High Court in Calcutta has finally given the opportunity to the hospital to make its own statement on this matter. The next hearing of this case will be on November 4.
Note that the Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission was formed in 2017 to fix the rate chart for medical services in private hospitals. But, even after a long time, the regulatory commission could not fix it. Later, the Calcutta High Court directed the Regulatory Commission to fast-track the rate chart. Similarly, the commission has sent the list to the state government. According to sources, in that case, the new rate chart was to be published by issuing a notification only after the permission of the state government. However, as a result of the new super specialty private hospital being added to the case, now when the new rate chart will be published depends on the court’s verdict.