Bengaluru: Woman dies day after admission, bereaved family gets Rs 3 lakh bill

BENGALURU: A 38-year-old Covid-infected woman died on Tuesday, a day after she was admitted to a private hospital. Adding consternation to shock, the family was presented a bill of Rs 3 lakh for a day’s treatment.
The woman from RT Nagar, who had cough and breathlessness, was admitted to Aster CMI hospital on Monday (Feb 22) afternoon. Her condition worsened and she died the next day. A few hours later, the bereaved family was asked to settle a Rs 3 lakh bill.
Shocked, the family contacted Mercy Mission and activists there connected with officials in Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust. Following the intervention of two IAS officers and the Bengaluru district health officer, the bill was reduced to Rs 89,000. Discussions went on till 2am on Wednesday. Later, Mercy Angels, an NGO, conducted the woman’s last rites.
Hospital records show the woman was diagnosed with Covid-19 pneumonia, acute kidney injury and ischaemic hepatitis. “In this case, the bill was reduced after the family connected with us and we escalated the matter with the government,” said Mohammed Ismail, coordinator, Mercy Angels. “The hospital had billed drugs that were not even used.”
When contacted, Dr GA Srinivas, district health officer, Bengaluru Urban, said additional chief secretary Jawaid Akhtar had asked him to intervene. “I asked the hospital how a bill for one day’s treatment was Rs 3 lakh. The hospital then gave a revised bill,” Dr Srinivas said. The woman’s brother said they had paid Rs 30,000 at the time of her admission.
Replying to TOI’s queries, Aster CMI hospital said the woman had severe respiratory distress and needed ventilator support. ECMO was proposed but the family refused it. Thereafter, the patient developed bradycardia (abnormally slow heart action) and went into cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered as per protocol. But she expired at 10.30pm on Tuesday. The hospital said the cause of death was acute hypoxic respiratory failure.
On the Rs 3 lakh bill, the hospital said, “The service order generated includes consumable and medical requirements for the next two days. Usually, at the time of the discharge, the unused medicines are returned, and the amounts adjusted in the final bill. The tariff is as per rates set by the government of Karnataka and we followed the same procedure while providing the final bill of Rs. 89,799 to the family. We waived Rs. 59,799 and only charged Rs 30,000 on humanitarian grounds.”
Ismail said the woman’s family did not ask for a waiver but were made to sign such a letter. “We only questioned the rationale behind such an inflated bill,” Ismail said.
Mohammed Ismail said, “Drugs that were not used were billed. Had they not questioned it, the family would have been forced to pay.”