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HomeHealth70% Indians overcharged for ambulances, 36% for oxygen during 2nd Covid wave,...

70% Indians overcharged for ambulances, 36% for oxygen during 2nd Covid wave, survey finds

Survey by LocalCircles reveals that half of those who overpaid for ambulances were charged five times the regular price.

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New Delhi: As many as 70 per cent Indians were overcharged for ambulances, 36 per cent for oxygen and 19 per cent for medicines during the aggressive second wave of the Covid pandemic in April-May, a new survey has revealed.

Conducted by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, the survey also found that half of the people who overpaid for ambulances were charged five times the normal rate.

About 30 per cent said they were “charged at regular price”, 10 per cent were charged “100-500% more than regular price” while 50 per cent were “charged 500% or more than regular price”.

Of the 36 per cent who paid more for oxygen concentrators, cylinders, oximetres and other items, 4 per cent said they were charged between MRP and up to two times the regular price, 14 per cent were charged two to three times the regular price and 18 per cent were charged over three times the MRP.

A total of 38,000 responses were received by the survey across 389 districts of India.


Also read: Double vaccination halves risk of developing long-lasting Covid symptoms


Medicines and tests

The survey also looked into the overpricing of medicines such as Tocilizumab, Remdesivir amd Fabiflu during the second wave. There was a high demand for these medicines at the time to treat Covid and its symptoms.

It found that 30 per cent respondents were given a discount for Covid-related medicines while another 30 per cent were charged the MRP.

Meanwhile, 5 per cent noted that they were charged between MRP and two times the regular price, another 5 per cent were charged two to three times the regular price and yet another 5 per cent were charged between three and 10 times the MRP.

Over ten times the regular cost of medicines was paid by 9 per cent of the respondents while 16 per cent chose the “can’t say” option and are likely to have been overcharged, according to the survey.

According to the poll, 13 per cent Indians who got an RT-PCR test during the second wave were overcharged by private laboratories and hospitals.

Nine per cent, meanwhile, got it done for free at a government facility, 36 per cent at a private hospital at a price fixed by the government and 38 per cent used a home sample collection service.


Also read: When should kids wear a mask: On school bus, in classroom, outdoors? Here’s what experts say


 

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