Patients undergoing treatment at Assam’s State Cancer Institute, Guwahati will now have to pay more for diagnostic tests and hospital services. The new fee structure, which came into effect at the institute on July 22, has raised serious concerns among cancer patients and their families about the additional financial burden.
As per the new tariff, the fees of several essential medical procedures and tests have increased abnormally. Under the revised structure, the daily rent of hospital beds has increased eight times. Instead of Rs 200 earlier, patients will now have to pay Rs 1,600 per day. Similarly, the cytology test fee has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 50. Biopsy test, which is very important for cancer diagnosis, has been fixed at Rs 2,700 instead of Rs 1.0 earlier. Additionally, the fees of various blood tests have increased by around 60 percent.
The revised levy also applies to tests that help doctors diagnose cancer. The examination fee, which was earlier available at Rs 900, has now been increased to Rs 2.0 There are also reports that the institute has stopped providing free medicines. Patients who were earlier dependent on government medicines are now facing additional costs during treatment.
The new fee structure, which came into effect on July 22, is applicable to various tests and services offered at the institute. The exorbitant cost of essential medical services has become a major challenge in treating the common and poor patients.