Thane, August 24: As many as 17 private hospitals in Maharashtra's Thane city overcharged COVID-19 patients to the tune of Rs 1.82 crore and are yet to refund Rs 1.40 crore out of it, civic officials said on Monday.

Following several complaints from patients, Thane Municipal Commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma constituted audit teams to check the billings of 17 hospitals in the city. Convalescent Plasma Treatment: US FDA Has Issued Emergency Authorisation of Convalescent Plasma to Treat COVID-19 Patients, Announces President Donald Trump.

The audit teams checked 4,106 bills from July 10 to August 21 and found an excess amount totalling Rs 1.82 crore in 1,362 bills, the civic body said in a statement. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) issued show cause notices to these hospitals following which they refunded Rs 26.68 lakh to the patients.

The corporation accepted submissions by hospitals for the excess amount worth Rs 15.27 lakh, but these medical facilities are yet to refund Rs 1.40 crore, the TMC said. Coronavirus in India: Live Map.

The civic body last month suspended the licence of a private hospital on Ghodbunder Road here and cancelled its classification as a COVID-19 facility after it allegedly overcharged patients.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)