74 pc Indians in favour of govt creating mandatory BIS standard for hospital bills: Report

Majority of Indians (74 per cent) are in favour of the government creating mandatory BIS standard (Bureau of Indian Standards) for hospital bills, which requires all charges for consumables, services, facilities, and others to be itemised, a new report said on Sunday.

According to the social community platform LocalCircles, the majority of the respondents were not happy with the billing format and the lack of detailing in their hospital bills.

The report surveyed nearly 23,000 citizens located in 305 districts of India. 67 per cent were men while 33 per cent were women.

“The three years of the Covid-19 pandemic brought to light, several issues faced by people at hospitals but the issue of getting a hefty bill at the end of their treatment with limited details and clarifications left a poor impression about India’s private hospital system amongst many,” the report said.

Moreover, the report found that 47 per cent were happy to state that “all charges had been broken down separately in detail for consumables, services, consultation, facilities, etc”.

About 43 per cent indicated that while the charges were broken down, the bill did not have details about the consumables used and the various services availed, and 10 per cent indicated that no details about the charges were mentioned in the bill, only “package charges” were mentioned.

Transparency in billing will help not only the consumers but also “health insurance companies, employers who give reimbursement packages and even the government — both Central and states, some of which are providing healthcare schemes”, the report said.