Pune: ₹8,000 for a 7km Ambulance Trip, cost of covid care

The coronavirus pandemic is characterised by uncertainty. As a new disease, even experts are not yet fully in agreement over how to best treat and cure Covid-19. In India, there is widespread confusion over the cost of the treatment, and how accessible it is to seek hospital care. Against this backdrop, news of an ambulance operator in Pune fleecing a Covid patient by charging ₹8,000 for a short seven-kilometre trip emerges as the most recent example of this sorry state of affairs.

The Pune district administration filed a case against an ambulance service provider in the city for overcharging a #COVID19 patient with Rs 8,000 for a seven-km ride.

Follow LIVE updates here.https://t.co/N8yvNFt3fw

— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) July 9, 2020

One Wednesday, July 8, district administration authorities in Pune filed a case against the ambulance service provider for overcharging for their services. The charge of ₹8,000 was raised on 25 June, when the ambulance operator was tasked with transporting a coronavirus patient from a hospital to a nearby Covid care centre. The local Regional Transport Office also seized the vehicle used that day.

#Bibwewadi police booked an ambulance service provider who charged Rs 8000 for a trip of 7 kilometres#Ambulance #AmbulanceService #Pune #SakalNews #Sakal #Viral #ViralNews https://t.co/GkjAlJLb1x

— Sakal Times (@sakaltimes) July 9, 2020

Ambulance charges have been fluctuating wildly in other cities too. A report in The Week found that some hospitals in Mumbai were charging as much as ₹10,000 for ambulance journeys as short as three kilometres. In addition to the high cost of ambulance transportation, the cost of rooms in Mumbai’s private hospitals can easily go into lakhs of rupees for multi-day hospitalisation. This includes not just hospital stay, but also the cost of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other hidden costs.

More such instances coming to light everyday How Mumbai’s private hospitals are fleecing COVID-19 patients – The Week https://t.co/evioPOQp5e

— Lajwanti D’Souza (@lajwanti_dsouza) June 26, 2020

With no definite cure for Covid-19, even the drugs used to treat the disease are growing increasingly expensive. Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine have been bought by a paranoid populace, leading to a shortage that is artificially driving up the prices of these drugs.

@TelanganaCMO @KTRTRS @asadowaisi @amjedmbt @WHO @Cipla_Global @PMOIndia @AmitShah
India is no 1 in black market in pandemic situation Remdesivir injection sold in black market at around 25000 rupees in Telangana in delhi 20,000 in Maharashtra 40,000
It’s actual price is 5000 pic.twitter.com/22plKUSxJi

— Reporter Subhan (@Reportersubhan) July 8, 2020