- The incumbent Indian government at the Centre would want us to believe that the country is headed in the right direction to join the exalted company of the most advanced nations by the year 2047. The Union Government also does not miss any opportunity to highlight how the nation is positioning itself to reach the stated objective, showcasing the growth factors over the last decade and a half. Agreed, due credit should accrue to the present government for ensuring the country sails through choppy waters, what with the geopolitical and geostrategic scenario undergoing tremendous changes in the last few years. The country had to navigate immense challenges courtesy of the pandemic-induced economic disruptions. Those dark days severely exposed how fragile our healthcare system and infrastructure were when scores of people lost their lives and livelihoods.
PC: The Indian Express
- The country struggled to cope with the increasing number of patients lining up to receive medical care. It was a scary situation where every family underwent turbulent/disturbing episodes. The moot point to ponder over here is whether the incumbent government has learnt its lessons and earmarked substantive allocation of funds to address this glaring anomaly. The answer must come as shocking. There is not much improvement in the matter despite the crying need to spruce up the healthcare infrastructure substantially. Now, something more disturbing has come out in the open. Or is it not so open? As reported recently, India’s private hospitals are getting away with billing malpractice. Why are the governments not caring by showing alacrity/intent?
PC: India Today
- It is fair to assume that in the world’s fifth-largest economy, a private hospital sneaking in an extra procedure to a patient’s bill, double–counting a surgery, would draw the wrath of anti-corruption agencies. Unfortunately, this is not happening here. Bill-inflating by private hospitals, which handle 80% of India’s medical services, has become normalized. Between a non-existent regulatory framework, authorities in cahoots with private hospitals, and govts failing to provide affordable healthcare, Indians are at the mercy of private hospitals, doctors, and diagnostic labs. This is unfortunate. Mind you, social status matters little; vulnerability is the same, from the richest to the middle classes to those whom a single health emergency can knock back into poverty.
PC: CollaborateMD
- Inflated bills and hidden profits are not new discoveries. Hospitals use medicines and consumables to inflate bills. These are less visible as costs – masks, gloves, syringes, IV sets, and catheters. Unit-wise, low-cost, there’s no way to keep tabs on how many were consumed. Which family is going to question tests stacked up in ICUs? The nodal pharma pricing authority, NPPA’s analysis of hospital bills had revealed private hospitals made profits of as much as 1,737% on consumables. Now, which government followed up to address the pressing matter with due diligence? None. Sadly, patients are the least empowered in the Indian health system. Even when BIS introduced billing standards for hospitals last year, it kept them voluntary. Why? Multi-aspect regulatory collapse and an unregulated private sector are not what we pay taxes for. Wake up, authorities.
