Private hospital penalised for collecting excess money from NTR Vaidya Seva beneficiary

A private hospital in Narasaraopet was penalised for illegally collecting money from a beneficiary under the Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva scheme. The Palnadu district administration imposed a penalty three times the excess amount and directed the hospital to refund the collected sum to the patient.

The action was taken during a District Disciplinary Committee meeting held at the Palnadu Collectorate on Monday under the chairmanship of Collector Kritika Shukla. The case pertained to a 2023 complaint, in which the hospital allegedly collected ₹23,000 as co-payment from a patient, in addition to the amount paid by the government under the scheme.

During the meeting, Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva District Coordinator Dr. G. Chandrasekhar placed details of complaints received under the scheme before the Collector and committee members. Taking a serious view on the violation, the Collector ordered that the penalty amount be deposited with the government and the illegally collected amount be returned to the patient.

Warning that any repetition of such violations would not be tolerated, the Collector directed all empanelled hospitals to strictly provide cashless treatment to Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva beneficiaries without collecting money or issuing bills. She also instructed hospital managements to take immediate corrective measures.