Hospital cost capped, but Covid can cripple 80% of families

尽管设置了治疗费用上限，新冠仍使80%的印度患者家庭陷入困境

NEW DELHI: Responding to growing anger over the high cost of Covid treatment, most states have capped Covid treatment charges. Yet, more than 80% of families would be financially crippled by a single member undergoing Covid treatment. That’s because even at the capped charges, bills for even ten days of treatment work out to several times their monthly expenditure, an analysis of the charges and official data on monthly expenditures shows.

新德里：由于新冠治疗的高昂费用引发的愤怒日益加剧，大多数邦都对新冠治疗费用设定了上限。然而，超过80%的家庭会因为一名成员接受新冠治疗而陷入经济困境。一项收费分析和月度支出的官方数据显示，按照上限收费，十天的治疗费用将是每月支出的好几倍。

For instance, according to the latest household expenditure report of 2017-18 put out by the National Statistical Office, in Delhi, which has among the highest monthly per capita expenditures in the country, for 80% of the population monthly spend per person is below Rs 5,000 or Rs 25,000 for a family of five. The lowest priced isolation bed in a non-accredited hospital in the Capital would cost Rs 80,000 for ten days of treatment, more than three times the monthly spending of 80% of the population. For a patient with severe Covid in ICU care with ventilator support, the bill could be several lakh as the treatment could stretch for two to three weeks or more.

例如,根据国家统计办公室公布的最新的2017-2018家庭支出报告,在德里（印度月人均支出最高的城市之一），80%的人口人均每月花5000，五口之家不超过25000卢比。德里非认证医院的最低价格隔离床，10天的治疗费用为8万卢比，是80%五口之家每月费用的三倍多。对于在重症监护室接受呼吸机治疗的重症新冠患者来说，由于治疗时间可能会延长两到三周甚至更长，费用可能会达到数十万卢比。

TOI put together the capped prices for isolation beds, ICU beds without ventilator and those with ventilator in 20 states and compared the cost of ten days’ treatment with the latest report on monthly per capita expenditure in each state. It shows that even with price caps, the treatment is unaffordable for 80% of the population. In all states, the treatment is free of cost in government hospitals. However, even in non-Covid times, the government share of inpatients in the country is at best about 42%. With reports of poor conditions in governments hospitals running to full capacity and wide publicity regarding bureaucrats and politicians choosing private hospitals for Covid treatment, there was a greater clamour for beds in private hospitals.

《印度时报》汇总了20个邦的隔离病床、没有呼吸机的ICU病床和有呼吸机的病床的上限价格，并将10天的治疗费用与每个邦月度人均支出的最新报告进行了比较。结果显示，即使设置了价格上限，80%的人口也负担不起治疗费用。在这些邦，在公立医院，治疗都是免费的。然而，即使在非疫情时代，住院病人的报销比例最多也只有42%左右。有报道说，公立医院的条件很差，已经满负荷运转，官员和政客选择私立医院接受新冠治疗的情况得到广泛宣传，因此，对私立医院床位的需求越来越高。

In many states like Gujarat, West Bengal and Kerala, the fixed rates are for patients referred by the government or for those covered by government health schemes, where the government picks up the tab. Typically, only people with connections get referred through the government to private hospitals, while others do not have a choice. In states like Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana, the price caps are applicable to all patients going to private hospitals. Despite the price caps, there are exclusions which differ from state to state, such as PPE cost, high-end investigations like CT and MRI, drugs, or specialist charges. Private hospitals have also come up with ways to evade price cap such as charging rack rates for the days before a person is confirmed as Covid positive and doing the same for the days after the person tests negative but remains admitted for post-Covid complications. In many states like Delhi, there is no mechanism to ensure implementation of the caps despite a large number of complaints of overcharging.

在古吉拉特邦、西孟加拉邦和喀拉拉邦等许多邦，固定费率适用于公立医院转诊的病人或可享受政府医疗计划的人，费用由政府承担。一般来说，只有有关系的人才会从公立医院转到私立医院，而其他人没有选择。在卡纳塔克邦、奥里萨邦和泰伦加纳邦，价格上限适用于所有去私立医院就医的病人。尽管有价格上限，但各邦的例外情况有所不同，比如防护装备成本、CT和MRI等高端检查、药物或专家收费。私立医院也想出了规避价格上限的方法，比如对确诊阳性的病人收取高额费用，对确诊为阴性但仍因新冠并发症入院的病人收取高额费用。在许多邦，比如德里，尽管存在大量收费过高的投诉，却没有机制来确保实施收费上限。

One of the UN’s sustainable development goals is to prevent “catastrophic spending” on health, which can impoverish families. If the share of health expenditure in the total annual household expenditure is more than 10% to 25%, it is considered catastrophic. In all states, just treatment for moderate Covid in isolation beds for 10 days with the capped rates is well above the 25% threshold for 80% of households. While in states like Delhi, Kerala and Punjab with high household monthly expenditure, ICU treatment for severe Covid could be 50%-80% of annual household spend, in most other states it could be equivalent to an entire year’s household expenditure, or even double what a family would spend in two years.

联合国可持续发展目标之一是防止医疗保健方面的“灾难性支出”，这可能使家庭陷入贫困。如果医疗支出在家庭年度支出总额中所占比例超过10%-25%，就被认为是灾难性的。在所有邦，只对中度新冠患者进行10天的隔离治疗，按照上限收费也远远高于80%家庭25%的月度支出。在德里、喀拉拉邦和旁遮普邦等家庭月支出较高的邦，重症新冠患者的ICU治疗费用可能占家庭全年支出的50%-80%，而在其他大多数邦，这可能相当于家庭全年支出，甚至是家庭两年支出的两倍。

印度时报读者的评论：

译文来源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/p/51037.html   译者：Jessica.Wu

Subha Narayan Mishra

Reality is,doctors becoming dacoits and medicals as well as staffs becoming irresponsible,arrogant and greedy.

I lost my father by the cold blooded murder executed by medicos in pvt hospitals and now ashamed that,earlier I was believing them to be corona warriors.all looters.

现实是，医生变成了土匪，医护人员变成了不负责任、傲慢和贪婪的员工。

我的父亲死在印度公立医院的医生手上，我还以为他们是抗疫战士呢。全部都是土匪。

Mitesh

The only way to teach these greedy leeches a lesson is to burn down a couple of hospitals, everyone else will fall in line..

给这些贪婪的吸血鬼一个教训，唯一方法是烧掉几家医院，其他医院就会守规矩…

Guest

the fault is with our government.

这是印度政府的错。

Prakash Velu

Centre and State Governments are doing nothing to stop this loot. They could have taken complete control under disaster management Act to stop this looting.

印度中央政府和邦政府没有采取阻止这种掠夺行为的措施。他们本可以利用灾难管理法来阻止这种抢劫行为。

Ashish Thakur

Only BJP govt would spend money (8000 CR) on VVIP airplane than using it for hel treatment for poor families.. Their brainless decisions will hurt India the most.. All other countries are spending money for Covid..

人民党政府愿意花800亿卢比为VVIP买飞机，而不用来帮助贫困家庭治疗新冠肺炎。他们愚蠢的决定对印度造成的损失最大…其他国家都在为控制疫情花钱。

rambo rambo

It's a joke. 1.5 laks for 10 days?

真是个笑话。10天15万卢比?

Deepak Soni

More than 80% of the families were crippled by Modi Government before begng of 2020 . Those families are now starving . And out of remaining 20 % majority of the families have been crippled by Covid and immature lockdown . And remaining may be less than 1%.have become more wealthy .

在2020年之前，超过80%的家庭就已经被莫迪政府搞得支离破碎了。这些家庭现在正在挨饿。剩下的20%大部分的家庭都被疫情和毫无计划的封锁搞得陷入困境。只有不到1%的家庭变得更加富有。

Subba Iyer Mani

Healthcare is only for govt propaganda and ‘Mann ki baat’. No one can afford covid treatment.

医保只是政府的宣传。没人能负担得起新冠治疗费用。

Zainul Abedin

Private hospitals Mafia and Politicians from all the political parties are minting money since COVID arrived in India .

自从印度爆发疫情，私人医院、黑手党和各政党的政客们都在牟利。

samcv

Indian government has grossly neglected heathcare since begng so private healthcare has flourished. Government should form system like NHS of uk. Nothing can be free, every household should make give 1percent of their income for healthcare schemes so these schemes can be made viable.

印度政府从一开始就严重忽视医保，所以私人医院蓬勃发展。政府应该建立像英国NHS那样的医保体系。没有什么是免费的，每个家庭都应该拿出其收入的1%缴纳医保，这样这些计划才能可行。

Surendra Jain

I will prefer to die at home rather than going to hospital... save my family financially

我宁愿死在家里，也不愿去医院接受治疗，只是能让家庭免于陷入经济困境

Jagdeep Sharma

what ET is pointing out is the pathetic condition of our health care system. An already moribund system has got a rude shock by Covid. No wonder that people don't want to report infection . If you go to govt hospitals chances of survival very low and if you go to private hospital then risk of wi out lives savings.

《经济时报》指出了印度医疗体系的可悲状况，一个已经奄奄一息的系统受到了新冠疫情的猛烈冲击。难怪人们不想报告感染情况。如果你去公立医院，活下来的机会非常渺茫，而如果你去私立医院，那么有可能花光你所有的积蓄。

Matam Nahusharaj

No one including doctors know anything about Corona.There is no medicine.hospitalization is not required.If one stays isolated for ten days everything is back to normal.Those who are exploiting in the name of Corona must be shot dead.

没人了解新冠病毒，包括医生在内，没有药可以治。不需要住院，自行隔离10天，一切都会恢复正常。那些以新冠之名牟利的人必须枪毙。

Bhawinder Bakshi

Cap of Covid treatment cost is a big lie by both the Centre and State Government. Private hospitals are looting people. In Faridabad Haryana, I had to pay one lac advance despite having insurance policy.

为新冠治疗费用设定上限是印度中央政府和邦政府的弥天大谎。私立医院正在抢钱。我住在哈里亚纳邦的法里达巴德，尽管有买保险，我还是需要预付十几万卢比的费用。

truth is bitter

Government to take full control of few private hospital till pandemic is over....treatment be free of patient..

印度政府应该全面接管一些私立医院直到疫情结束…提供免费治疗…

Citizen welfare desk

Ground reality is the problem with the govt.  Modi had promised to provide world class great health care system in India for everyone's avail, but when that will be translated into action, it seems a mirage now. Whatever is good the govt is not doing anything. Only sound is there but no action.

这是政府的问题。莫迪承诺为每个印度人提供世界一流的医疗保健系统，现在看来只是海市蜃楼。只要是好事，政府什么都不做。只有口头承诺，没有行动。

Ravie Gupta

50 crore poor people are already covered under National Health Scheme. they should not suffer.

医保计划已经覆盖了5亿印度穷人，他们不应受苦。

Ravi

Doctors will become multimillionares by end of this pandemic.

等到疫情结束，医生们将成为百万富翁。