Harder to breathe: Cost of oxygen still sky high

Hospitals still charging high rates, blame it on diesel prices

Kumaran P. | NT

Fifty-three year old Akhil Haroon spent the better part of the year being treated for serious injuries sustained in an accident. The treatment, lasting over three months in hospitals in Rajkot, Mumbai and Bengaluru, cost him a total of Rs 45 lakh. On September 30, however, he returned to the same Bengaluru hospital, this time with fever and an infection. He was discharged two days ago.

He was presented with a whopping bill of Rs 21,74,201, including around Rs 5 lakh spent at the pharmacy. In comparison, an 80-day stint at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai, where he was treated for his injuries, cost him Rs 22 lakh.

The final bill, accessed by News Trail, threw up some interesting details. The hospital had charged Rs 350 per hour for oxygen. This was brought to the hospital’s notice as the family, who had spent several lakhs, was facing a financial crunch. A letter was written to hospital management by Tanveer Ahmed and Mohammed Ismail from the Emergency Response Team (ERT), seeking clarification according to the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act. The hospital then agreed to give him a ten percent discount.

Why is oxygen still so expensive? Is there still a supply crunch following the pandemic? Dr Prasanna H.M., President of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), made a startling revelation: The cost of oxygen cylinders went up during the pandemic and hasn’t returned to pre-Covid rates since. “There are no issues in supply,” he explained. “However, private hospitals continue to charge high rates.”

A senior official from the Department of Health and Family Welfare said, “We have fixed the oxygen price rates in consultation with the private hospitals and we have asked them to follow the same. Any violations can be brought to our notice.

Oxygen is measured by the cubic litre – the state government has fixed the rate at Rs 17.5 plus transportation per cubic litre. “Transportation cost is a grey area,” Dr Prasanna says. “Hospitals charge around Rs 45-50 per cubic litre now, nearly double of what it was pre-Covid, when patients were repaying Rs 23-25. During the pandemic, it went up to Rs 90 per cubic litre.”

This is the case with many city hospitals. They bill patients, irrespective of the demand. “We use 200 metric cubes per day, depending on the ICU occupancy. During the pandemic, we used around 800-900 metric cube. It all depends on the base contract price plus the increase in the cost of power and diesel,” says a spokesperson from Manipal Hospitals, Hebbal.

Hospitals say that the rise in fuel costs have led to an increase in oxygen costs too. Tanveer Ahmed said, “This is ridiculous. It was COVID we had to agree to those prices. Not a single hospital follows the KPME Act and there is no one holding them accountable. We have to go fight with hospitals to seek clarity on the bills.”