Health service centres told to charge fees fairly or face legal action

Private Health Services Regulatory Council Secretary Dr. Dhammika Alahapperuma said yesterday (April 18) that letters have been sent to the relevant institutions informing them that the service fees of private hospitals and medical institutions should be charged fairly.

He also stated that if it is reported that the patients have been charged unreasonable prices, the law will be implemented against the concerned private medical institutions.

He announced that during the recent economic crisis, the service fees of private medical  institutions had been raised due to cost factors for raw material and medicine imported from abroad.

Under the current economy, the service fees of the related private medical institutions should be reduced as the prices have come down, he added.

He also said that it is estimated that there are about 25,000 private medical institutions in the country, and about 10 complaints are received against those institutions per month.

(Source: Daily News – By Sandya Karunaratne)