Hospital served notice for charging poor patients covered under govt scheme

NAVI MUMBAI: The Dr DY Patil hospital in Nerul has been served another show-cause notice on August 22 for wrongly charging several patients enrolled under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY). After the notice, the hospital is learnt to have made a refund in at least one case, returning Rs 2.25 lakh to Pandurang Patil, father of Mayuri (23), who was admitted to the hospital for close to a month for multiple ailments.

Earlier, the state had cracked down on several hospitals in Navi Mumbai, including DY Patil, for wrongly charging poor patients. DY Patil was at the time given a show-cause notice after complaints from patients and refunded money charged wrongly to 22 patients.

The second notice was issued as officials of the MJPJAY received as many as 24 grievances about the hospital wrongly charging patients even after enrolment under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, an insurance scheme. Sources said many more patients than 24 were suspected to have been charged wrongly.

"The show-cause notice indicating that action would be taken against the hospital was issued after we received several complaints from patients and the complaints kept coming in even after we issued the second show-cause notice," an official involved with the MJPJAY said. "In case of Mayuri Patil, the hospital made her father first pay Rs 1 lakh and even after the enrolment of the patient under the Jan Arogya Yojana, the hospital had charged the patient for medicines. Besides, the hospital had also availed some funds under other government schemes."

Pandurang Patil said he had had to borrow money to pay the hospital.

DY Patil CEO Dr Anupam Karmakar said the hospital had explained its stand to the yojana officials. "All this is a result of misunderstandings and all issues are related to pre-authorisation. Even in instances where there are no complaints, we have refunded amounts charged to patients before they were authorised for treatment under the scheme. Our doctors have in fact gone bed to bed to ask patients under the yojana, and whether they had any complaints," he said.