The family of Vinay Kumar, a 36-year-old patient from Narela area of Delhi, protested outside Max Hospital Shalimar Bagh alleging that the authorities did not forward their mediclaim documents to the insurance agency. The patient was discharged on Thursday morning after which the protesting family came out on streets holding black flags and demanded the closure of the hospital.
On April 26, Kumar suffered from severe dehydration and vomiting for which he was admitted to the hospital. The doctors got an MRI done and then two days later while the hospital bills continued to spike, the family was reassured that all of this will be reimbursed by the insurance company and that they should get all the tests done. The family was handed over a whopping bill of Rs 1,75,000 six days later.
“When we asked about the mediclaim, the hospital said that it got declined. I got it checked through my own sources with the insurance company and they confirmed that they never received any documents from the hospital,” said Kumar’s brother.
“We called the police and with the help of local activists, we managed to send an application to the Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. We just hope that strict action is taken against the hospital,” said the patient’s brother.
In its response, Max Healthcare Authorities put out a statement saying, “The patient was discharged on May 2 and his insurance-related formalities were forwarded for processing. However, he has declined a cashless transaction by the insurance provider. Hence, the hospital requested him to clear his dues in case of an insurance denial. The Hospital is left with no choice but to look at legal channels to recover its rightful dues.”
