Hyderabad: There is a saying going around in Hyderabad. It is like this:
If one goes to government hospital he is likely to comeback dead. And, if he goes to a private hospital, it is most likely that he would come back financially dead.
The recent government orders have capped the cost of COVID-19 tests at private hospitals between Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,800.
In response to the government order the hospitals said that they cannot charge government dictated fee. They also said that COVID-19 test equipment is expensive. It costs between Rs 13 lakh and Rs 15 lakh each.
When siasat.com contacted Care Hospitals; Continental Hospital; Asian Institute of Nephrology & Urology; Apollo Hospitals, Thumbay Hospital; Star Hospital; Medicover Hospital; Yashoda Hospital; KIMS Hospital; Prathima Hospital; Mallareddy Narayana Hospital; Sai Sanjeevani Hospital; Sunshine Hospital and; Omega Hospital they all said they cannot provide testing facility for the out patients.
How can one get tested then? For how much a test would cost and where we approach? The people are asking.
The hospitals that have been mentioned above clearly said that they have rejcrejected to take samples for COVID tests for outpatients (People with health problems who visit the hospital for diagnosis or treatment, but do not get admitted for overnight care) while the tests for patients who have been admitted would be done.
Both the treatment and tests for COVID-19 at these private hospitals are done only if one gets admitted at the hospital. The samples for COVID test is taken and then are sent to any of these three testing centers Gandhi Hospital, Osmania Medical College and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences. Now the point is how much would this charge? Surely the tests are not done as per the government orders. They are far more expensive. Only the tests may charge between Rs 5000 and Rs. 10,000.
Now the total bill which includes isolation wards, test reports, medication etc. would cost between Rs 1 lakh and 2 lakh per day. The rider is that the condition of the patient would determine how many days he would stay in the hospital.
Meanwhile, even if one wants to get COVID-19 test done for their own satisfaction they would have to get admitted first. One can also say this long procedure is all about making more money than treating the patients in these difficult times.