A study conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reveals that Covid-19 treatment cost was more than 12 times higher in private hospitals than that in public healthcare facilities. The huge medical costs in private hospitals have put a financial burden on patients. Costs for the Covid vaccination program were Tk 12,993-16,721 crore, which is less than half of the claim of Health Minister Zahid Maleque. The minister recently said the costs were around Tk 40,000 crore.
The Covid healthcare cost (bed, medicine, ICU, oxygen, and other expenditures) was Tk 35,938 in public hospitals, while it was Tk 4,58,537 in private hospitals. Last year, a similar study, done by the health ministry’s Health Economics Unit, disclosed that the higher treatment cost in private hospitals was mainly due to not following the national treatment protocol. The government’s success and shortcomings in Covid-19 testing, vaccination, campaign, and the effectiveness of the financial incentive packages were highlighted in the study.
The study shows that 22 per cent of patients faced multifaceted problems while undergoing treatment in public and private hospitals. According to the study report, delayed services due to inadequate medical support caused the deaths of 7.8 per cent of patients and increased complications for 11.6 per cent of patients. Around 18.9 percent of infected people took treatment from other districts as treatment facilities in their districts were adequate, and the average transport costs were Tk 3,535.
In public and private healthcare facilities, about 65 percent of patients were not provided with the required medicine, while over 33 per cent failed to get specialist doctors’ advice when required. On average, patients had to wait for three and a half hours to get a hospital bed. About 15 per cent of emergency patients got oxygen support late. The ailment of the public hospital system has a huge cost and the people have to pay the amount. Due to the insufficiency of public health services, poor quality, and lack of trust, patients are highly dependent on the private sector and neighbouring countries.
