COVID-19: SC issues Govt notice on PIL for capping treatment costs at private hospitals

The Supreme Court on Friday (June 5) sought response from the Centre on a PIL seeking capping of treatment costs of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals in the country.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan issued notice to the Centre on the PIL filed by Avishek Goenka for fixing an upper limit of cost for COVID-19 treatment by private hospitals.

The court said that the copy of the PIL is to be served on Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who would take instruction on the issue and reply in a week. The plea has also sought increasing the number of private quarantine facilities and hospitals with an option to the infected people for availing such facilities on a payment basis and said that currently such an option is not given to patients.

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It also said that the government is to be asked to fix indicative rates of treatment for similar standards of such facilities. There should be a time-bound settlement of medi-claim by insurance companies and cashless treatment facilities be extended to all insured patients, the plea said.