<p>Around 2.66 lakh Covid-19 patients have been hospitalised in the city from last year till date under the government quota. However, bills for only 78,658 patients, amounting to<br />Rs 310.99 crore, have been paid by the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (implementing agency for Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka).</p>.<p>This means, bills of only 29.57% of the patients treated under the government quota have been paid for so far by the government. Across the state, payment for 13,847 Covid patients' bills, amounting to Rs 43.79 crore, are in the pipeline. SAST Executive Director NT Abroo, in an email, said the total claims paid for across the state include 1,44,947 cases, amounting to Rs 466.55 crore. Private hospitals say the government owes them each lakhs in dues for the treatment of Covid patients.</p>.<p>Dr Prasanna HM, Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), said, in the first Covid wave, 1.3 lakh patients were treated in the private sector's government quota while in the second Covid wave, 2.5 lakh Covid patients were billed to the government. "The SAST data on claims they have paid for includes government hospital patients too. They haven't cleared even 50% of the bills of the first wave," he said.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/covid-19-kids-are-using-soft-drinks-to-fake-positive-tests-the-science-and-how-to-spot-it-1004400.html" target="_blank"><strong>Read | Covid-19: Kids are using soft drinks to fake positive tests – the science and how to spot it</strong></a></p>.<p>Pristine Hospital, Rajajinagar, for example, says dues of Rs 19 lakh are pending from the first Covid wave. But for the second wave, they have received a payment of Rs 3 lakh. On an average, a Covid patient requires at least seven days to recuperate post-hospitalisation, which generates a bill of a minimum of Rs 35,000 despite the government's price ceiling.</p>.<p>"In the first Covid wave, the private hospitals in the city treated more than 75,800 Covid patients, while the government quota patients were around 60,000. In the second Covid wave, the number of hospitalisations increased. We have dues pending from the first wave too. We started receiving payments only when the second wave started. Out of the bills submitted for the second wave, private hospitals have received 5-10% payments," he added.</p>.<p><strong>SAST software can clear only 200 bills per day</strong></p>.<p>Prasanna revealed that as per information given by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Jawaid Akhtar, only 200 payments can be cleared per day by the SAST software. "Because of the limitations of the SAST software, the 201st bill payment gets blocked even if their HR processes it. This means, only 6,000 payments can be cleared in a month. This, when we are clocking 3,000 cases per day," he said.</p>
<p>Around 2.66 lakh Covid-19 patients have been hospitalised in the city from last year till date under the government quota. However, bills for only 78,658 patients, amounting to<br />Rs 310.99 crore, have been paid by the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (implementing agency for Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka).</p>.<p>This means, bills of only 29.57% of the patients treated under the government quota have been paid for so far by the government. Across the state, payment for 13,847 Covid patients' bills, amounting to Rs 43.79 crore, are in the pipeline. SAST Executive Director NT Abroo, in an email, said the total claims paid for across the state include 1,44,947 cases, amounting to Rs 466.55 crore. Private hospitals say the government owes them each lakhs in dues for the treatment of Covid patients.</p>.<p>Dr Prasanna HM, Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), said, in the first Covid wave, 1.3 lakh patients were treated in the private sector's government quota while in the second Covid wave, 2.5 lakh Covid patients were billed to the government. "The SAST data on claims they have paid for includes government hospital patients too. They haven't cleared even 50% of the bills of the first wave," he said.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/covid-19-kids-are-using-soft-drinks-to-fake-positive-tests-the-science-and-how-to-spot-it-1004400.html" target="_blank"><strong>Read | Covid-19: Kids are using soft drinks to fake positive tests – the science and how to spot it</strong></a></p>.<p>Pristine Hospital, Rajajinagar, for example, says dues of Rs 19 lakh are pending from the first Covid wave. But for the second wave, they have received a payment of Rs 3 lakh. On an average, a Covid patient requires at least seven days to recuperate post-hospitalisation, which generates a bill of a minimum of Rs 35,000 despite the government's price ceiling.</p>.<p>"In the first Covid wave, the private hospitals in the city treated more than 75,800 Covid patients, while the government quota patients were around 60,000. In the second Covid wave, the number of hospitalisations increased. We have dues pending from the first wave too. We started receiving payments only when the second wave started. Out of the bills submitted for the second wave, private hospitals have received 5-10% payments," he added.</p>.<p><strong>SAST software can clear only 200 bills per day</strong></p>.<p>Prasanna revealed that as per information given by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Jawaid Akhtar, only 200 payments can be cleared per day by the SAST software. "Because of the limitations of the SAST software, the 201st bill payment gets blocked even if their HR processes it. This means, only 6,000 payments can be cleared in a month. This, when we are clocking 3,000 cases per day," he said.</p>
