Private hospitals in West Bengal will offer discounts on the maximum retail price of medicines and consumables to COVID-19 patients without any medical insurance policy, a senior official said on Saturday.
The discounts will not be applicable to coronavirus patients with personal or corporate medical insurance, West Bengal Health Regulatory Commission Chairman Justice Ashim Kumar Banerjee said.
He said that private hospitals have also been asked to provide details of the medicines on which the discounts are not available.
The Commission had last week issued advisories stating that such COVID-19 patients would get at least 10% discount on medicines and 20% on consumables, if they are purchased from the hospital pharmacies.
Senior officials of the Commission and a delegation of private hospitals under the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI) had met on Friday, after authorities of private medical establishments sought clarity on the advisories.
The private hospitals in the State will continue to adhere to the prescribed bed charges for COVID-19 patients having no insurance coverage, the senior official added.
