“Dead But Still Billed: The Chilling Truth About Private Hospitals In India
In India, if you are hospitalized under private care, you are one step away from poverty. Don’t take our word for it. Watch and witness yourself. Just do a simple search in Google,“ Doctors keep treating after patient death, “ and you will see a plethora of authoritative articles claiming this claim is true. Here are some of them :
1. The family kept waiting all night for the death certificate.
2. The patient died, but Fortis Hospital kept on charging.
3. Treated the dead man for three days.
They say films are a mirror to society, and in almost all Bollywood movies, we have seen patients being admitted to private care, and their family members go broke with the treatment. We did not believe it until we fact-checked, and the truth was revealed before us.
Take a look at this published article from Scroll. It says that indian medical bills are forcing people into poverty. 70 % of indians are dependent on private hospitals, and 60 % of indians don’t even have medical insurance. This means the hospital bills need to come out of your pocket.
Now the question is, “ How expensive are these bills? “ A report from Money Control reveals that an investigation was conducted on 12 major private hospitals in Delhi. The cost of the hospital bed is equivalent to the charges of a five-star hotel, and this is the reason why these hospitals have earned a profit of 12,000Cr in the last four years.
Another report, the Times of India, states that a patient spends 43 % of their income on consumables like gloves, syringes, and other equipment. This report also proves that private hospitals charge way higher than the market rate. Meaning that if the market rate of gloves is Rs 1, then it is charged Rs 17 in private care. The profit margin is 1700 percent.
The sting operation
When Zee News launched a sting operation, the results were quite similar. The hospital charges Rs 200 for five diapers. Normal room rent were Rs 73,000, ICU charges were Rs 37,000, tests were billed Rs 43K, doctor fees were Rs 23 K, and the medical bill was Rs 60 K.
When Scroll investigated the death of Aadya Sign, there was some shocking news. The girl was admitted to the hospital due to dengue, and after treating her for 15 days, the bill came to a whopping 18 lakhs. The health minister even ordered an investigation, but the culprits were never caught.
The Medical Test Scam
We have already made you aware of how private hospitals are looting you in the name of consumables and medicines. Now, let us deep dive into the medical test scam and expose this.
Tell us how many times you have had the same test for every illness you presented before the doctor? How many times have doctors given you medicines without even seeing your test results?
The number is huge, we know, since we have also been victims. According to the reports of Dr Arun Gadre (a gynecologist and health activist) said that hospitals and pathology labs have teamed up to launch a scam racket known as sink test.
Basically, in private hospitals, blood samples are taken, moved to the lab for testing, and after that, they are discarded in the dustbin. A general report is prepared and sent to the patient. The hospital earns 60 % of its total earnings from the patients. That’s why you might have noticed that they refer to a particular pathologists.
Dr. Arun Gadre further says that he has interviewed more than 78 doctors and exposed another scam known as the Referral scam. This means physicals used to refer Dr Gadre to patients and asked a cut. When he refused to pay up, he lost patience, too. For instance, if a physician referred angioplasty treatment to Dr Gadre, then the physician wanted 30k to 40k in commission since the actual treatment cost was around 80k-2 lakhs.
Are Doctors God? Or A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing?
After heavy research and investigating our findings, we can conclude that doctors are not to be blamed. It’s the hospital management that needs to take full responsibility. Just like corporations have work and sales targets, doctors have too. They have a target to treat patients and how much revenue they generate for the hospital. Based on the performance or amount of revenue they generate, their contracts are renewed. This is the reason why doctors suggest unnecessary tests and medicines, and surgeries that you don’t need in the first place.
Have you ever noticed that when pregnant women get hospitalized, doctors immediately suggest a C-section rather than a normal delivery? Because C-section makes hospitals more money. Based on the constant pressure from the hospital team, the recent MBBS graduates are opting for additional degrees like business administration and hospital management so that they can work for a high-paying salary in medical care.
So, Why Are People Still Going Private When it’s a clear case of A Scam?
The answer would be a lack of management and infrastructure. In India, government hospitals are filled with rotting beds, broken fans, and zero service. The government ignores the people who once voted for them, and that’s why the people have no faith in them. People in India prefer to stay home and treat their sickness rather than going to a government hospital and signing a death warrant.
The private hospitals know the game, and that’s why they play it so well. To be honest, the politicians of our country never really cared about healthcare. Why would they? Their treatment is free in a private hospital, and the Times of India article proves it. The report claims that the Rajya Sabha spent 1.6 cr in treating the members of parliament. Since the government doesn’t spend a dime, healthcare is coming from our pockets.
According to Worldbank an average person needs to allocate 62 % of their income to health care. So if you are getting treated for 100 rupees, 63 rupees needs to be out of your pocket. Whereas if you look at the US, UK, and Germany, a person spends 20 % of their income, and the rest is taken care of by the government.
Takeaway
Dear readers, as we have informed you about the dark side of private hospitals, that doesn’t mean you should lose faith in them. Our job is to just make you aware so that you make decisions based on intelligence and logic, and not from hearsay. If you don’t have medical insurance, you should carefully design the best one for yourself and your family and get started as soon as possible. Medical insurance can be your messiah during a health crisis.
