What is the illogical reason behind hospital room tariff and other charges?
- Thread starter mclachlan
- Start date
limitedterm
New member
logant2222
New member
@logant2222 I agree with you. Making money can’t be an excuse for everything, that’s why we have laws and regulations and a sense of fairness. It’s actually to protect those less well off.
If the work is the same but profit margin greatly increases then services will disproportionately cater for the rich (even tho how much you pay is not an indicator of wealth, but the value to you or necessities)
You can’t both say it’s based on making profits but also that it is subsidised the poor. That’s spending the profits twice.
If the work is the same but profit margin greatly increases then services will disproportionately cater for the rich (even tho how much you pay is not an indicator of wealth, but the value to you or necessities)
You can’t both say it’s based on making profits but also that it is subsidised the poor. That’s spending the profits twice.
@logant2222 It is not illogical. Its a service industry that wants to make money. Imo this is one of the least unethical ways to do so.
logant2222
New member
@logant2222 The logic being - they want to make money. Its not wrong to want to make money. 
@pollyton For govt hospitals, the answer is simple. If you are in a general ward, the govt has low prices for everything (medicines, procedures, surgeries) because the govt is subsidising everything.
If you opt for a private room, the govt assumes you have money and either reduces the subsidy or charges you full price for everything.
TLDR: Govt subsidises everything when you stay in general ward. It does not when you stay in pvt room.
If you opt for a private room, the govt assumes you have money and either reduces the subsidy or charges you full price for everything.
TLDR: Govt subsidises everything when you stay in general ward. It does not when you stay in pvt room.
operagirl84
New member
@mclachlan Yes.
The other consumables are a multiplier of your room rent. My corporate insurance ppt stressed on that.
When hospitalised,
In the itemized bill I asked for all the remaining used / ordered/ billed consumables. They ran around trying to find them , and gave a bill discount by another 3k.
In FORTIS all the consumables are FORTIS labelled and overpriced. And it becomes billed consumables.
In Apollo for extreme diarrhea, they gave the eldoper after 2 days of hospitalization. Let the patient suffer.
The other consumables are a multiplier of your room rent. My corporate insurance ppt stressed on that.
When hospitalised,
In the itemized bill I asked for all the remaining used / ordered/ billed consumables. They ran around trying to find them , and gave a bill discount by another 3k.
In FORTIS all the consumables are FORTIS labelled and overpriced. And it becomes billed consumables.
In Apollo for extreme diarrhea, they gave the eldoper after 2 days of hospitalization. Let the patient suffer.
valarie51899
New member
@mclachlan This is such a scam. Should be deemed illegal.
chocolatesquare
New member
@mclachlan This is like taxes- the we'll to do pay extra to pay for those who can afford less. It's unfair but has been the model in India for years for making Healthcare accessible and affordable.
zashmaster
New member
@mclachlan I did not see this point clearly. For the hospitals, this is basically a case of cross-subsidy. Within a hospital, a person in the general ward actually pays less than the cost, and the person staying in the a/c suite subsides them. This is the case across most of the hospitals.
daniel2379
New member
@mclachlan I used to part of A Charitable Hospital Board. It is ideal for Indian Janta and very just. If you can afford a suite, you pay Rs25,000 for your room which is x10 what a common man can afford. If you can afford that, you can also afford higher medical bills so you pay x4 or x5 for X-ray, mri, tests etc all of which goes to subsidise the poor folk. You get priority, personal attendant to wheel you around for tests and doctor’s appointments.
Why i like it is that rich affluent people get what they want at a price, VIP treatment, Common man gets what they want, cheap treatment and Hosptial gets to balance their books, Win-Win for all concerned.
Why i like it is that rich affluent people get what they want at a price, VIP treatment, Common man gets what they want, cheap treatment and Hosptial gets to balance their books, Win-Win for all concerned.
smorgan9187
New member
@daniel2379 Best explanation.
malgosia63
New member
@mclachlan Room tariffs are seriously over rated considering the services which excludes nursing, rmo charges but you don’t get dedicated support and there are floor wise rmo and 1 nurse for 4-5 patients.
that’s why TPA tie-ups hospitals for package billing and most of the government insurance have package billing known as PPN rates, rates are significantly lower when compared to open billing, that’s why you have deluxe, super deluxe room category to charge and get maximum out of your insurance policy. This is business!
that’s why TPA tie-ups hospitals for package billing and most of the government insurance have package billing known as PPN rates, rates are significantly lower when compared to open billing, that’s why you have deluxe, super deluxe room category to charge and get maximum out of your insurance policy. This is business!
@mclachlan I don't know how unit economics work in this but considering how everything else work in this country, I believe it is to average out the cost for those in general wards.
So what are the fair higher charges for luxury of private or deluxe room?
1) Room Rent + Cleaning/maintainance (obviously)
2) Nursing care (additional effort to see one Patient)
3) Doctor's consultation (additional effort to see one Patient)
What's are the unfair higher charges?
1) Consumables
2) Medicines charged at MRP
Probable reasons why hospital charges these unfair higher charges?
1) To average out the unit economics. Hospital isn't easy to build or sustain. There are visible forces to be paid and there are invisible forces to be paid. You definitely want to provide services to the lower strata and limit their financial burden as much as feasible. You provide them with an option of shared ward where the overall cost reduces. But you have to pay your taxes, your visible and invisible work force and generate income to remain profitable and sustainable. You try to charge those from those who say they can afford the luxury of private space.
2) Hospitals are businesses and should be classified and treated as such. Once administration realises the burden isn't on you but on your insurance companies, the insurance agreed rates are applied. Whenever we treat a patient, either in private or in government (general vs BPL vs Ayushman Bharat vs other schemes), treatment protocols largely remain same but resource utilisation is tweaked in a manner that those paying out of pocket bear least financial burdens while those with insurance/government scheme are charged for the applicable packages.
3) If you afford the luxury of private space, you can afford the consumables and medicines at MRP. The simplest explanation.
I damaged my tail light once. Sent the car for damage repair and claimed insurance. Insurance guys coughed by 40k.
I damaged my car door three months later - got who door denting painting job done by the same authorised facility. Paid out of pocket. It cost me 7k plus charges.
Whether this is an illegal or legal practise? Beyond my comprehension.
So what are the fair higher charges for luxury of private or deluxe room?
1) Room Rent + Cleaning/maintainance (obviously)
2) Nursing care (additional effort to see one Patient)
3) Doctor's consultation (additional effort to see one Patient)
What's are the unfair higher charges?
1) Consumables
2) Medicines charged at MRP
Probable reasons why hospital charges these unfair higher charges?
1) To average out the unit economics. Hospital isn't easy to build or sustain. There are visible forces to be paid and there are invisible forces to be paid. You definitely want to provide services to the lower strata and limit their financial burden as much as feasible. You provide them with an option of shared ward where the overall cost reduces. But you have to pay your taxes, your visible and invisible work force and generate income to remain profitable and sustainable. You try to charge those from those who say they can afford the luxury of private space.
2) Hospitals are businesses and should be classified and treated as such. Once administration realises the burden isn't on you but on your insurance companies, the insurance agreed rates are applied. Whenever we treat a patient, either in private or in government (general vs BPL vs Ayushman Bharat vs other schemes), treatment protocols largely remain same but resource utilisation is tweaked in a manner that those paying out of pocket bear least financial burdens while those with insurance/government scheme are charged for the applicable packages.
3) If you afford the luxury of private space, you can afford the consumables and medicines at MRP. The simplest explanation.
I damaged my tail light once. Sent the car for damage repair and claimed insurance. Insurance guys coughed by 40k.
I damaged my car door three months later - got who door denting painting job done by the same authorised facility. Paid out of pocket. It cost me 7k plus charges.
Whether this is an illegal or legal practise? Beyond my comprehension.
theendwasin70ad
New member
@mclachlan Always go for 0 copay.
@theendwasin70ad Yeah, but unfortunately this is corporate policy thru employer.
theendwasin70ad
New member
@mclachlan I see. Actually even I have corporate policy and there we had options to select 0%,10% or 20% co-pay. I went with 0%
And still I end up paying ~10% on every claim
And still I end up paying ~10% on every claim
@theendwasin70ad Can you tell how you end up paying upto 10 percent? Was it avoidable? Just want to learn to be prepared.