Mumbai: A district consumer commission has directed the Dean of Shushrusha Citizens Co-Operative Hospital Ltd., Dadar, to pay ₹24,000 with interest to a Dadar resident. The hospital had taken mark up charges towards providing cashless hospitalization, which the commission said the hospital failed to prove it was entitled to recover. The commission further directed ₹8,000 compensation towards mental agony and litigation cost.
The order was passed on a complaint by Dadar resident Jitendra Ladhani against the hospital’s dean and M/s Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. The directive to compensation is only to the dean and not to Star Health.
Ladhani's father was admitted to Shushrusha in November 2017 and passed away in the same month. He had taken a Group Insurance Policy from Star under which he was covered for a sum assured of ₹5 lakh. After Ladhani’s father’s death, the hospital included ₹24,000 as mark-up charges towards providing the facility of cashless hospitalisation, which he said was incorrect and filed a consumer complaint.
Non-institutional patient
The hospital said Ladhani’s father was admitted as a non-institutional patient (credit patient) and the complainant is conversant about the 15% markup fee. The hospital the complainant should have objected immediately.
The commission stated that as per the memorandum of agreement between the hospital and Star, “We find that there is no mention in regard to recover mark-up charges”.
The commission observed that after two days of hospitalisation, Star had authorised ₹10,000 for cashless treatment. The commission observed that the hospital failed to give evidence that they were entitled to mark-up charges from the complainant. As Star had settled the amount with the complainant, it did not entertain a complaint against it but directed the hospital to refund the amount with 6% interest from the date of filing the complaint.
