New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS): Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that he will look into the matter on how a hospital charged Rs 1.8 crore from a patient. In a written reply to Congress MP Manish Tewari, Mandaviya said, "I am having the matter looked into and shall revert soon".

Prior to this, in a letter to the Health Minister, Tewari had written, "I would urge you to immediately call for an explanation as to why and how did the hospital charge such an exorbitant sum of money from a patient irrespective of how unwell he or she might be."

Tewari also asked the health minister to "bring a Bill in Parliament in order to set up Independent Regulator whose remit would go across the public private health sector and also take the pharmaceuticals space within its preview."

Replying to the letter, the Health Minister said that he will revert soon on both matters. The matter came to the light after Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti lashed out at Max Hospital, Saket for allegedly charging Rs 1.8 crore for Covid treatment of a man who was admitted in April-end and discharged earlier last month.

The Congress MP has also asked Somnath Bharti for intervention of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal into the matter, referring that health is a state subject.

Sharing the letter from the Union Health Minister, Congress MP Manish Tewari tweeted, "Health Minister's letter promising to look into the 1.8 crore bill charged from a Patient by Max Hospital Saket. I request Bharti to please ask Chief Minister NCT Delhi to do the same as Health is a state subject".

However, according to some reports, the hospital clarified that the patient was diabetic, hypertensive and developed multiple complications leading to liver dysfunction and sepsis. The patient remained hospitalised for almost four-and-a-half months and was discharged on September 6.