Caught between the red tape of the Madhya Pradesh government’s healthcare system and a private hospital in Bengaluru that handed a poor family a bill beyond its means, a 20-day-old baby in need of a heart surgery breathed her last in transit between the two States recently.
The baby was referred to Narayana Health in Bengaluru on September 11 under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RSBK) by the Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh. Unable to pay the mounting hospital bill, the baby’s father Manoj Verma, a fruit vendor, got her discharged and she died in the train en route to Madhya Pradesh. “The aunt accompanying the child carried the dead baby in her arms all the way to Indore,” Sumeet Verma, the child’s uncle,said, from his native village Dhamnod.
The family has alleged that the hospital authorities refused to perform the surgery as the Madhya Pradesh government owed them ₹6.3 crore towards reimbursement for treating patients under various health insurance schemes. Narayana Health is an empanelled hospital for the various health insurance schemes of that State.
Private patient
Although the hospital admitted the baby after collecting an advance of ₹10,000, it was not seen as an RSBK case. The family, which had brought the baby to the hospital assuming that treatment would be free, was distressed when it learnt that the baby was being treated as a private patient.
Through the intervention of Manthan Law (a group of practising lawyers in the Karnataka High Court) and the Karnataka Janaarogya Chaluvali (KJC), a people’s movement for health rights in Karnataka, the family contacted Dhar district CMHO R.C. Panika. Despite the CMHO’s assurance that the dues would be cleared at the earliest, the hospital handed over a bill of ₹83,400 to the family on September 15.
“Unable to pay the bill and worried that the amount would only increase by the day, we decided to get our baby discharged and take her back. We got our friends in Dhamnod to pool in some money and managed to pay ₹70,000, since we had already paid ₹10,000 initially. We boarded a train to Indore and the baby died on the way,” said Mr. Verma.
Action sought
The KJC has now written to the Madhya Pradesh Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, seeking that Narayana Health and all its franchise hospitals be stripped of empanelled status in government health schemes for this “callous attitude, complete disregard for patient survival, and unethical obsession with extracting money”.
“They have used this 20-day-old critically ill baby as a tool to exert pressure on the Madhya Pradesh government to collect their dues. We have also demanded that the family be compensated for the amount spent on the baby’s treatment and for the mental agony they went through,” said Akhila Vasan of KJC.
Dr. Panika said this was the first case he had referred to Narayana Health from Dhar district for treatment under RSBK. “The Madhya Pradesh government is aware of this case and has directed all district CMHOs to clear pending dues to empanelled hospitals,” he said.
He has also submitted a detailed report to the Dhar district magistrate incorporating the agony that the family was subjected to. “The district magistrate will forward it to the Health Department, which will decide on the future course of action,” he said.
Hospital denies charge
Narayana Health has denied accusations of neglect or lapse on its part in treating the baby.
“The baby was not in an operable condition and the family took [her] away against medical advice. We never turn away any patient, irrespective of their financial condition. We have been treating several patients as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility every month. We told the family to pay whatever they can and did not demand full payment,” said Joseph Pasangha, chief operating officer, Narayana Health.
