Government must check cost of treatment now: Experts

KOZHIKODE: The successful conclusion of the nurses’ strike has triggered  a discussion on the possible  hike in treatment costs in private  hospitals in the state.  Health activists have called for  state intervention in checking the unbridled increase in healthcare costs and also a mechanism to protect small and medium hospitals. Healthcare expert Dr K.P. Aravindan, formerly with Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode,  told DC that the corporate hospitals can  absorb the increase in expenditure as most of their clients are rich.

“I hope the government would bring out a mechanism to monitor the cost of such elite institutions. But small and medium hospitals would find it tough to survive as majority of their clientele are lower class and lower middleclass people,” he  said.
“The state should intervene  by offering them some kind of cost cutting sops like subsidised electricity, free medicine for common health care issues and a support system to help them sustain,”  he added.    Many   experts say that  the government should increase its share of investment in healthcare which should also include the small and medium rural hospitals.  

IMA state president Dr V.G. Pradeep Kumar told DC that many of the mid-level hospitals may be  closed. “So the patients catered by these hospitals would either shift to government hospitals which are already overloaded or they will struggle out to source more funds and would migrate to costly corporate hospitals. “Both are detrimental to  the healthcare system in the state”, he said. However the management of corporate healthcare institutions are not  happy with the turn of events. Chairman and Managing Director of Baby Memorial Hospital Dr K.G. Alexander told DC that the major hospitals with more than 800 beds would have an additional expense of about Rs 1.5 crore per month with the recommended salary hike. “We have no  go but increase our charges”, he added.