While many are heaving a sigh of relief that Madhavi (who was brutally attacked by her father for marrying Sandeep) is on the road to recovery after being grievously wounded, what’s alarming is the astronomical cost of her treatment — Rs 8.5 lakh in just one week and the treatment is a long process.
Unable to meet the huge costs, Venu (Sandeep’s uncle) resorted to a crowd funding platform to raise money. He approached Bitgiving, a crowd funding platform — that is shutting shop end of the month! They started a campaign on their website but collected just Rs 10,400 so far — which is really of no use!
Venu said, “When Talasani Srinivas Yadav sir visited the hospital, he said he would take care of the treatment. We are just hoping for the best. The treatment cost is so high, we cannot afford it. I requested the hospital authorities to extend Madhavi’s stay in the hospital because she lives in a small mud house, chances of getting infection are high. I am now planning to approach KTR sir via Twitter and request him to help me.”
Doctors explain that though Madhavi is responding well and will soon be shifted to a normal room, she has to be under constant observation given the kind of treatment she has been undergoing.
A happy picture of the couple’s marriage day.
“By the time Madhavi was brought to our hospital, she had lost around six units of blood and was in a semi-conscious state. Given her grievous injuries, she had to undergo eight hours of surgery performed by four surgeons — a neuro, orthopedic, vascular and plastic surgeon,” informs a source from Yashoda hospital where she is being treated.
Why is medical care so expensive?
A CEO from a city’s corporate hospital explains, “Hospitals have to pay a fortune to get imported equipment. The maintenance cost for the equipment is also very high and we need to deploy dedicated resources. Besides, we also have to pay high salaries to the doctors and surgeons, taxes, etc. So naturally, the cost of treatment will be high,” he said.
Humanitarian move
The hospital has taken up Madhavi’s case on humanitarian grounds and borne the entire expenditure so far. However, they are hoping that the government will compensate them. A source from the hospital says, “Madhavi’s case was an emergency and we had to start the treatment immediately. If the government can chip in, it’ll be great; else, we will help the patient. We will ask them to pay as much as they can and waive off the remaining costs on humanitarian grounds.”
Bigwigs go scot-free!
Interestingly, hospitals often waive off the entire cost of treatment for bigwigs, hoping for some future gains. MLAs and MPs are also covered under the Central and State Government Health Schemes to meet their medical expenses (which are reimbursed to the hospital later).
A doctor who works in a corporate hospital shares, “Recently, a bigwig was admitted in our hospital for a surgery. He was there for a week and the bill came to around Rs 2.2 lakhs. He didn’t offer to pay and the hospital too let it be because of his position.”
But that’s the call the hospital management takes, doctors can’t interfere. A source from a city-based hospital says, “Recently, a patient underwent an eye surgery which cost around Rs 1.5 lakhs, but they paid only 50 per cent of the amount. The hospital waived off the rest.”
When does the Government chip in
Why then are treatment costs not waived off for the common man or the poor? A source from the health department shares that the government is doing their bit to save the lives of the people.
“The government has introduced several revolutionary health schemes like Aarogyasri, Health Card, annual free medical check-up for the poor, etc. If people have a White Card, the government will bear the entire treatment expenses,” says a government source.
Many people also reach out to KTR (Minister for IT, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Textiles and NRI Affairs) on Twitter, requesting him to help meet their medical expenses. “KTR often directs the case to the concerned officials from where the patients get authenticated letters and submit it in the hospital. We keep getting directives (in writing) from the government that it will reimburse the entire treatment cost later,” informs a resident doctor from a corporate hospital.
HT01
