Vishnupriya
Pune: After deputy CM Ajit Pawar announced on Sunday that Guillain-Barré Syndrome treatment costs would be covered under govt schemes, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations issued an advisory that such hospitalisation costs will be under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat.
But doctors said that the cap of Rs 2 lakh for treatment under these schemes may not be enough to cover the high treatment costs for most patients.
Rajendra Wable, dean of YCM Hospital, a civic hospital in Pimpri Chinchwad, said that earlier, treatments like plasmapheresis were covered under MPJAY and Ayushman Bharat with a cost up to Rs 60,000.
“For the last two days, we have included Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IGIV) treatment under these schemes. Treatment costs up to Rs 2 lakh can be covered,” Wable added.
A senior YCMH doctor said that the IGIV treatment is expensive and these govt schemes are insufficient to cover the complete cost. An official from YCMH confirmed that a10g IGIV vial at the hospital has an MRP of Rs 20,799.
Chemist Rohit Karpe said, “There are two dosages of vials of IGIV in the market. The 5g vial costs around Rs 15,000 as per the MRP while a vial of 10g costs Rs 26,000.” The price may vary depending on the supplying company. Pune gets these vials from Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
Dr Pravin Soni, in charge of the medicine department at YCMH, said IGIV is the first line of treatment, and if a patient does not respond, then plasmapheresis treatment is taken up. In some cases, the patient has to be given another IGIV dose again if he does not recover.
State health minister Prakash Abitkar said they have instructed hospitals to not make patients or their relatives pay for unnecessary things.
A relative of a 31-year-old patient from Sinhagad Road at Sassoon General Hospital said they have applied for MPJAY scheme and have spent Rs 20,000 in the last five days for the patient’s plasmatherasis. “We don’t know how much more the govt scheme will cover,” he said.
Head: How Much IVIG Is Needed?
A 2g dose of IGIV per kg of body weight is given to an adult with a maximum of 20g per day
A person weighing 50kg will need 100g of IGIV over a five-day period
It costs around Rs 2.6 lakh for 10 vials of 10g for Rs 2,600 each
The other charges, such as the ICU bed or other medicines, will add to the complete cost of treatment
