The Hidden Costs of Care

Behind every hospital invoice lies a maze of exclusions, add-ons, and loosely regulated fees that is fuelling healthcare inflation across India

- Abantika Ghosh

GEORGE MATHEW, AN HR professional, was admitted to a hospital with an acute stomachache. The establishment where he spent three days is part of a big hospital chain with significant presence across North India. Post-hospitalization, he was handed a bill of over *75,000, of which 4,101- about 5 per cent-was listed as "other charges".

The document is a classic example of the myriad and often mysterious ways that hospital bills bulk up. These miscellaneous costs included admission charges, medical evaluation for the third-party administrator (TPA) and medical history assessment. He was also billed thrice for care, hygiene and infection control, one for each day spent in the hospital. The consultant fees made up a few pages of the invoice with a few more listing out the consumables such as syringes, gloves, infusion sets and wet absorption sheets that had been used. These charges were in addition to the bed charges of about *5,000 per day for a twin sharing room. It is interesting to note that the bed charges do not automatically include charges for infection control or basic care. Equally interesting is the fact that medical history assessment was separately invoiced when it would have been done by doctors whose fees were already accounted for.