- Emergency Care Before Payment
- Law Sought for Hospitals
- Corporate Billing Practices Questioned
- Parliamentary Intervention on Healthcare
Article Today, New Delhi:
Raising serious concerns over private hospital practices, Member of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party, urged the Centre to bring a comprehensive law mandating emergency treatment without insisting on upfront payment. Speaking in the , she said denial or delay of treatment due to lack of money violated the basic principle of medical ethics.
Emergency Care as a Right
Maliwal asserted that in medical emergencies, saving a patient’s life must take absolute priority. She stressed that treatment should not be suspended or refused because a patient or family is unable to arrange funds immediately. According to her, making payment a precondition for care effectively turns hospitals into profit-driven entities rather than institutions of public service.
Patients Not Revenue Sources
Highlighting what she described as a disturbing trend, the MP said many corporate hospitals viewed patients as sources of income. She alleged that room rents in private hospitals often matched or exceeded those of luxury hotels. She further stated that patients were routinely subjected to unnecessary tests, particularly when hospitals were aware that insurance coverage existed.
Call for Uniform Regulation
Maliwal called for nationwide implementation of the Clinical Establishments Act to regulate private healthcare facilities. She pointed out that the Act was currently enforced in only a limited number of States, allowing hospitals elsewhere to fix charges arbitrarily. Therefore, she argued, the absence of uniform regulation was directly contributing to inflated medical bills and financial distress among families.
Treatment Before Billing Norm
Emphasising the need for systemic reform, she demanded that the principle of “treatment first, billing later” be made legally binding. She said refusal of treatment due to non-payment should be treated as a punishable offence. In her view, no consideration should outweigh the responsibility to preserve human life.
Concerns Over Drug Pricing
The MP also drew attention to the high cost of medicines sold within private hospitals. She alleged that patients were often forced to purchase expensive branded drugs instead of affordable generic alternatives. Moreover, she noted that hospitals charged full prices for medicines that were available at discounted rates outside, thereby increasing the overall burden on patients.
Insurance Sector Scrutiny
In addition, Maliwal criticised health insurance companies for sharply increasing premiums while frequently rejecting claims. She said families were pushed into debt despite being insured, due to delays and denials in reimbursement. She urged the Centre to strengthen oversight of the insurance sector to protect policyholders.
Growing Pressure on Centre
Concluding her intervention, Maliwal warned that unchecked practices in private healthcare could make quality treatment inaccessible to large sections of society. She stated that unless the sector was effectively regulated, both the poor and the middle class would continue to suffer. Her speech has since gained significant attention on social media, adding to public pressure on the government to act.
