UP Govt Caps Covid-19 Treatment Cost in Private Hospitals; DM Wants Strict Compliance in Noida

Private super speciality hospitals across Noida and Greater Noida can charge no more than Rs 10,000 per day for isolation beds, Rs 15,000 for ICU and Rs 18,000 for ICU with ventilator care for COVID-19 treatment, an official order said on Saturday.

These charges are for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers-accredited private facilities and include the cost of personal protective equipment (PPEs), the order issued by the Uttar Pradesh government stated.

For private hospitals that are not NABH-accredited, the charges have been capped at Rs 8,000 for isolation beds, Rs 13,000 for intensive care units (ICU) and Rs 15,000 for ICU with ventilator (invasive or non-invasive).

Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar are listed in 'A category' along with Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Bareilly, Lucknow, Agra, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Varanasi where these charges would apply, stated the order signed by Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad.

The order, applicable to private hospitals across the state, set these charges at 80 per cent and 60 per cent of 'A category' costs for districts listed in categories B and C, respectively.

Moradabad, Aligarh, Jhansi, Saharanpur, Mathura, Rampur, Mirzapur, Shahjahanpur, Ayodhya, Firozabad, Muzaffarnagar and Farrukhabad are listed in 'B category', while all those not mentioned in either of the first two categories fall in 'C category', the order stated.

The hospitals will also keep 20 per cent of their beds reserved for government officers and personnel and for patients covered under the Ayushman Bharat health scheme, it added.

"These orders have been issued under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the Uttar Pradesh Rules, 2020 and any violation of these orders would be punishable," the order stated.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Suhas L Y directed the chief medical officer to ensure strict implementation of the government order across Noida and Greater Noida.

Copies of the DM's order have also been sent to the three local authorities, the police commissioner and other government departments in the district.