Supreme Court Issues Notice And Seeks Response From Centre On Plea Seeking Capping of Prices of RT-PCR Tests

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde heard the submissions of Advocate Ajay Agarwal, who had filed the plea, and sought for a response from the Centre and the Health Ministry.

Agarwal contended before the Bench that various hospitals across were charging exorbitant prices for the RT-PCR tests, whereas the actual cost of the test was merely Rs. 200.

The Bench took the argument into consideration and issued notice.

The matter has been tagged with a similar plea by Advocate Sachin Jain, which seeks for nationwide cost-related regulations for treatment of Coronavirus patients at private and corporate hospitals.

Jain's plea avers that the issue of cost regulations across the country to private and corporate entities for treatment of COVID19 patients was a matter of "urgent consideration" as many private hospitals were commercially exploiting patients suffering from the deadly virus "to make a fortune out of their miseries in the hour of national crisis".

It buttressed its averments by pointing to various reports of surging bills of COVID-19 patients and the resultant barrage on insurance companies for reimbursements.

"It is submitted that if such inflated billing by the private hospitals can become a cause of concern for the insurance industry, what will be the plight of a common man who neither has a fat wallet nor an insurance cover to reimburse, in case, he requires hospitalization in a private hospital. It is a matter of grave concern that a large section of people in India still do not possess any insurance cover and are also not benefitted under any government health scheme." - the petition reads.