Karnataka govt issues notice to Apollo Hospitals for overcharging COVID-19 test

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The Karnataka government on July 6 issued a notice to the Apollo Hospitals for allegedly overcharging for a COVID-19 test and asked the hospital to give an explanation for "charging Rs 6,000 for a COVID-19 test".

The Karnataka government had fixed the upper limit of fee for coronavirus testing at Rs 4,500.

The notice was issued by the director of National Health Mission (NHM) in Karnataka.

"With reference to the above subject, the total cost of Covid-19 testing per patient should not exceed Rs 4,500. But it is seen that, in the bill raised by your hospital dated 25 June, 2020 an amount of Rs 6,000 is charged," the notice said, adding that it is a "clear violation" of Indian Council of Medical Research's testing guidelines.

The government has given Apollo Hospitals two days to respond. The state has been reporting a spike in COVID-19 cases for the past few days, and reported over 1,800 cases today, 981 out of which were from Bengaluru.