Mysore/Mysuru: The Private Hospitals Association has welcomed the Supreme Court’s (SC) direction on fixing a uniform  fee structure for treatment at all private Hospitals in the country within a month.

In a press release, Association President Dr. S.P. Yoganna said that the Association welcomes the SC ruling in connection with a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) filed by Veterans Forum for Transparency in Public life, an NGO.

Pointing out that the SC has directed the Centre to stipulate an uniform fee structure at all private Hospitals across the county in a month, Yoganna said that the last fee revision of medical services under the Clinical services Establishments Act, was done in 2018 and it is a matter of regret that the Central and State Governments did not bother  to implement it.

“The Association urges Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a high-level committee comprising  doctors, elected representatives, representatives of medical associations and NGOs as members, for ensuring a fair deal for both the patients and private hospitals, by stipulating an agreeable fee structure”, he said.

Noting that the Karnataka Government too has not revised the fee structure under its health schemes such as Yeshasvini, Ayushman Bharat, ESI Health Services etc., for the past 14 years, Dr. Yoganna maintained that the non-revision of fees for such a long time has tied the hands of private hospitals for providing better health services.

The State Government too should constitute a Committee for stipulating a fair fee structure for medical services in Private Hospitals, he said while appealing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to fix an appropriate fee structure in order to provide better medical services to the people.

Observing that 85 percent of the medical services in the country and the State is provided by private health sector, he said that Government Hospitals are providing only 15 percent of medical services to the population. In this backdrop, it is essential for the Government to draw the services of the private health sector for public health care.

As such, both the Union and State Governments should constitute a committee of experts for fixing a fair fee structure for medical services in  private Hospitals as directed by the SC, the  release said.