Hospitals yet to apply for reimbursement

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government was the first in the country to provide some financial relief to patients hit by Influenza A(H1N1) by having a reimbursement mechanism for swab collection charges. But not many hospitals have applied for reimbursement.
Considering the meagre contribution of the government and unaware of the reimbursement protocol, most hospitals are yet to apply for it.And, this means patients are paying the price for treatment.
While Category A and B patients continue to pay for consultation fees for flu screening, Category C patients are admitted to the ICU. The government pays only for swab collection which costs up to Rs 1,000, and the patient who has to stay for a minimum of 10 days in ICU spends at least Rs 50,000.
Six months ago, the flu started taking its toll across the country and there have been 100 deaths in the state, the highest in the country.
According to joint director of communicable disease, Dr T S Cheluvaraj, so far only two private hospitals have applied for reimbursement. "We have authorized district health officers to reimburse the amount since a number of patients falling under C category are few, hospitals may claim the amount for 20-30 patients together. We're reimbursing only swab collection charges," said Dr Cheluvaraj.
The recent active surveillance and initial observation of clinical death audit of the flu in the city clearly indicate delay in treatment as one of the main causes of death. But, the state health & family welfare department hasn't recognized that it's the cost which is delaying the patient from accessing medical care.
Unfortunately, in almost all victims, the flu confirmatory test reports are received only after their death. All hospitals are dependent on the Nimhans lab which can test only a maximum of 80 samples per day and government is yet to approve other private labs for tests. While Tamiflu is prescribed for suspected cases, its administration in most cases is delayed.
Dr K G Ravi Raj, Resident Medical Officer, Lakeside Hospital and Medical Centre, said: "As the government reimburses only swab collection money because the viral media and testing is done by the government, we're wondering whether we need to file the claim for swab collection. In the past month, we have received 3 Category C patients and as they require to stay a minimum of 10 days, a patient spends around Rs 70,000 -- Rs 20,000 for medicines and Rs 50,000 for hospital charges."
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com