KOLKATA: Private hospitals will be allowed to negotiate a price for “value-added” services with their clients for off-site vaccination camps but the service charge component of administering a jab cannot exceed Rs 150, the state government told them on Wednesday.
For on-site vaccination, all hospitals have been asked to implement the Rs 150 service charge cap from June 21 although some started doing so from Tuesday itself.
The clarification came at a virtual meeting between state health officials and hospital representatives on Wednesday after the Centre’s revised vaccination policy capped service charge for private hospitals at Rs 150.
Private hospitals had raised concerns that the service charge cap would hamper off-site vaccination as they would not be able to recover the cost of holding camps at housing societies, workplaces and malls.
The state on Wednesday also volunteered to act as a mediator for procuring vaccines from manufacturers on behalf of the private hospitals.
As per the new vaccination policy, the Centre would procure 75% of the jabs from manufacturers and distribute it to states to be administered to citizens free of cost.
The remaining 25% will go to private hospitals.
The state’s decision on off-site pricing came as a huge relief to private hospitals as most of them have reached out to housing societies, corporates, educational institutions and malls in a big way.
“We do not run Covid vaccination camps to generate revenue.
That is why many of us have adopted innovative ways to administer maximum doses within a short time.
But we incur additional cost each time we set up off-site camps.
All we want is to be allowed to recover that cost,” said Rupak Barua, group CEO of AMRI Hospitals.
“We are administering over 7,000 doses daily and plan to take this up to more than 10,000 doses per day very soon.
Our commitment to 200-plus corporates and associates remain unchanged,” he said.
Woodlands Hospital managing director Rupali Basu felt that allowing charges for value-added services was a big relief.
“Vaccination is a responsibility and not a business as we need to inoculate fast with the third wave looming large.
Till date we have inoculated around 51,000 people.
Despite the price cap our target for June is to administer 50,000 doses and double this by July,” said Basu.
Simmardeep Gill, COO CK Birla Hospital CMRI, too, said they will continue to hold both on-site and off-site camps despite the price cap, adding that it was a relief that hospitals “have been given an option to recover the cost of setting up off-site camps”.
Medica Hospitals chairman Alok Roy, however, felt even though the government had given them a window to charge for off-site camps, the damage had already been done.
“We incur additional costs in setting up off-site camps.
Now if we try to recover this cost people will ask why we are charging beyond what the government has set.
.
We will be cutting down the number of our offsite camps,” said Roy.
Belle Vue Clinic CEO Pradip Tondon.
also welcomed the government’s offer to mediate in vaccine procurement.
“This will ensure supply to smaller nursing homes as well.
We will be submitting our requirement for 36,000 Covishield doses and 5,000 doses each for Covaxin and Sputnik V,” Tondon said.
Sudipta Mitra, CEO Peerless group said, the hospital would abide by the government directive.
“Unfortunately we are yet to get our vaccine supply till now.
With the state government stepping in, procuring vials will become easier from now on,” he said.