SHILLONG, June 7: The Opposition Congress on Monday criticised the state government for not putting a price cap on COVID treatment in private hospitals.
The party also said Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma should already have done this if he cared for the people.
“We appreciate the action taken by the Assam government in fixing the upper limit for COVID treatment in private hospitals,” Congress legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh said.
Mawsynram legislator HM Shangpliang cited a similar step taken by Manipur with the maximum charge for oxygen bed in ICU fixed at Rs. 10,000 per day. “What is stopping the Meghalaya government from doing it? Why does it have to wait for its neighbours to take such an initiative?” he asked.
Lashing out at Sangma, he said: “As the chief minister, you should have done this consciously.” The chief minister should cap the prices if he cares for the people, he added. Shangpliang also said the government should bear the expenses of all COVID victims and provide ex-gratia of not less than Rs. 4-lakh for every person who dies.
The treatment for COVID in private hospitals ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh for seven days to more than Rs 4 lakh, putting a lot of financial burden on patients and their families.
