Dental care becomes dearer in Nellore
Ramakrishna, a city resident, approached a local dental clinic for removing an aching tooth. Hospital management, which claimed the hospital as a corporate medical facility, informed that it costs around Rs 4,000 apart from the medical investigations before conducting a small surgery for removing the tooth.
Nellore: Ramakrishna, a city resident, approached a local dental clinic for removing an aching tooth. Hospital management, which claimed the hospital as a corporate medical facility, informed that it costs around Rs 4,000 apart from the medical investigations before conducting a small surgery for removing the tooth. He confused and asked innocently that what was the need for undergoing surgery as he was having only a small problem. He had withdrawn his plan failing to bear the expenditure of around Rs 5,000.
This is not a problem of the youngster who shocked with the treatment charges of the hospital, majority people have been facing the same response from many hospitals that had placed huge list of exorbitant charges from the patients, who visit them even for small cure. Even for scaling (cleaning of teeth) is also ranging from Rs 500 to Rs. 1,000 in city hospitals for single sitting and root canal treatment is unbearable with huge costs depending upon hospital brand image.
Even as victims of dental doctors in UK started campaign to ‘clean up' dental costs, Nellore residents are also facing such tendency with fear-provoking charge-list of local doctors and mushrooming corporate hospitals in the guise of research centres. The situation had heightened to the highest peak of bizarre condition of the patients, who cannot get proper treatment even for small diseases at the government facilities.
The situation has worsened with the introduction of claim plans of the state government through EHS, Aarogyasri and various insurance plans. The system which provides reimbursement of costs or cashless treatment for some diseases had made the hospitals addicted to easy-money which gradually extended even to the common patients for exploitation. If any patient visits a private clinic they simply ask about any insurance plan or reimbursement facility and the charges would be high considering the facilities to the patients.
There are more than 20 super specialty dental clinics in city. “Government General Hospital is having a dental wing, but it has no such sophisticated facilities for providing advanced services. Medical colleges like Narayana are also providing services in dental care but majority have to rely on private hospitals in city. We have no other go except visiting private clinics in city,” said K Ramanaiah, a private employee from
Ramalingapuram area.
By P V Prasad
