Recently, the Andhra Pradesh High Court (HC) ordered the State Government to ensure private hospitals do not overcharge for treating the Wuhan virus patients.
The orders were given after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed against private hospitals extracting extra money from patients for profit, violating rules set by Andhra Pradesh (A.P.,) Government. The All India Bar Association (AIBA) filed the PIL, following which, the HC ordered the COVID-19 Nodal Officer to clear payments of patients at the private hospitals in A.P. The duties of the COVID-19 Nodal Officer would be ascertained by the Andhra Pradesh Medical Health Department as per the HC orders.
As per the HC orders, the Nodal Officer would supervise all the cash payments done for COVID-19 at hospitals. The officer would sign before giving bills to patients and check if all the paid money is as per the prices fixed by the government.
The High Court also ruled that the private COVID-19 designated hospitals should not take cash without the signature of the Nodal Officer. The High Court directed the District Collector, Joint Collector and District Medical Health Officers (DMHOs) to implement the orders of the High Court.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh has 16,85,142 positive cases of the Wuhan virus, of which 15,08,515 are recovered/discharged cases, 1,65,795 are active cases and 10,832 deceased cases till date.
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