Aurangabad, July 28: At least 400 instances of inflated bills being charged to COVID-19 patients by private hospitals have been detected in Maharashtra's Aurangabad during audit, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Due diligence by auditors has saved money to the tune of Rs 24 lakh (in the last two months) which patients would have otherwise paid through inflated bills, district collector Uday Choudhari told reporters. Also Read | COVID-19 Tally in Delhi Rises to 1,32,275, Death Toll Mounts to 3,881: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on July 28, 2020.

The order to appoint auditors and reserve 80 per cent of the total beds in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients was issued by the Maharashtra government in the last week of May. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi to Join Stakeholders From Banks and NBFCs on Wednesday to Discuss Roadmap for Future.

"We had received complaints against hospitals charging higher bills from patients, following which we appointed auditors. We have verified 409 bills in which the amount was found to be 5-15 higher than the prescribed rates. The extra amount was slashed," the collector said.

(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)