CAG Report Flags Rs 144.88 Cr Irregularity in Payments to Pvt Hospitals

Bhubaneswar:9/12/24: Widespread irregularities have been reported in COVID management, with substantial funds allocated to private hospitals without bill verification.

The CAG report highlights these discrepancies in the billing processes of eight private COVID-19 care Hospitals in the Khordha and Cuttack districts.

The CAG has questioned the Covid management bills from SUM Hospital, Hi-Tech, Blue Wheel, KIDS Hospital, Sanjeevani, Aditya Ashwini, and Sparsh Hospital in Bhubaneswar, as well as Sun Hospital in Cuttack, revealing a total irregularity of Rs 144.88 crore.

The CAG stated that the officials did not scrutinize the bills as per the guidelines before approving them for payment.

Furthermore, the CAG noted that the officials sanctioned the payments without confirming the actual number of patients admitted, the types of beds used, and the individual patient claims.

The previous BJD government allegedly approved the bills from these COVID hospitals without proper scrutiny. The CAG report has brought to light the former government’s undue leniency towards private hospitals.

The reasons for the unverified approval of the COVID management bills from these private hospitals remain unclear, raising questions about the underlying motives.

The BJP has questioned these actions and stated that the Mohan Majhi government will enforce strict measures against those responsible.

On the other hand, the BJD claims to have been proactive in Covid management, and the report is not fact-based.

It is yet to be seen what steps the Mohan Majhi government, which professes a zero-tolerance stance on corruption, will take against the former officials.