Private hospitals fined for using 'unfair means' to make profit

The Delhi government on Monday ordered a recovery of Rs 36 crore and Rs 10 crore, respectively, from two private hospitals for using "unfair means" to make profits.

The move came after Delhi government was pulled up by the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) in its audit released in August after it failed to recover a fine of over Rs 600 crore from five private hospitals, which had refused to treat the patients belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

"The hospitals have been asked to pay the long-pending fine," said a senior Delhi government official.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government in 2016 had slapped the fine on the five of these five hospitals — Max Super Specialty Hospital (Saket), Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Shanti Mukand Hospital, Dharamshila Cancer Hospital, and Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute. These hospitals were provided lands at concessional rates between 1960 and 1990 on the condition that they will treat the poor free of cost.

A total of 43 private hospitals in Delhi were allotted land at concessional rates on the condition that they will keep 10 per cent of their in-patient department capacity and 25 per cent of out-patient department capacity to treat EWS patients free of cost.

"These five hospitals had not abided by the conditions. The department had earlier in December 2015, sent notices to these hospitals seeking their explanation as to why they failed to treat the poor and why they should not be fined. But none of them gave satisfactory replies, so we initiated action against them," said a senior health official.