50k bill for 49-min ICU stay: Hospital faces music
Times of India | 13 March 2025
Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has asked a private hospital to refund a part of the amount it charged for treating a patient in its ICU for 49 minutes before he passed away. The commission observed that the billing was ‘inflated and unacceptable'.
The patient was admitted to BM Birla Heart Research Hospital with cardiac issues in Dec. Since he developed pneumonia, he was examined by pulmonologists from the adjacent CMRI Hospital. On the advice of the latter, the patient was shifted to CMRI on Dec 30, 2024. After being admitted at 1.40 pm, he was shifted to the ICU only at 5 pm and expired 49 minutes later.
"Even though he was in the ICU for less than an hour, the hospital ran up a bill of Rs 50,030. The hospital also charged Rs 11,875 as an emergency bill and Rs 1,800 for an ambulance to transfer the patient to CMRI, which happens to be inside the same campus. We have asked the hospital to retain Rs 20,000 and return the rest of the amount to the complainant," said WBCERC chairman Justice (retd) Ashim Kumar Banerjee.
While the complainant demanded an explanation from the hospital and sought a refund, he was asked to get a lawyer's letter. Soon after the complaint was filed with the WBCERC on Feb 19, prompting the latter to contact the hospital, CMRI claimed that it decided to refund Rs 11,000 to the patient's kin and even contacted them, but they did not respond. "We are not at all impressed with the hospital's response. How can a hospital charge Rs 50,000 for treating a patient for 49 minutes?" asked Banerjee.
The CMRI authorities could not be reached for comment.