As Nepal gradually lifts its national lockdown, and as the number of cases steadily rise in different parts of the country, there is chance government resources may be exhausted.
Dr. Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population, informed that private hospitals can charge from Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 15,000 a day as fees for treatment of a COVID-19 patient depending on the severity of the case.
Number of infections has continued to increase after lifting the lockdown which has put pressure on the government hospitals for treatment of the COVID-19 patients.
The government had earlier come up with a fee structure for treating COVID-19 patients in designated private hospitals. They had done so in order to end situations wherein infected people wouldn’t have to visit multiple hospitals for treatment, should a situation wherein scarcity of beds would arise.
The government enlisted hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 classifying them into three levels as 1, 2 and 3.
The Health Ministry has also made it abundantly clear that the government will not provide any treatment costs for those who reach out to private hospitals for COVID-19 treatment.
Dr. Gautam said that the fixing of the treatment fare was just to bring uniformity in the cost in private hospitals. “We have 10,000 beds in government hospitals across the country and treatment is free of cost in these hospitals,” he said.
He said that present order could be amended if the government hospitals get overwhelmed due to COVID-19 patients or number of active cases is more that bed-capacity in government hospitals.
