Rs 36 crore refunded by hospitals for overcharging COVID-19 patients: Maharashtra govt
Mumbai(PTI): Hospitals in Maharashtra have so far refunded Rs 36 crore to COVID-19 patients after being found to have overcharged, health minister Rajesh Tope told the Legislative Council on Thursday.
He was responding to a question by the BJP's Sadabhau Khot on whether hospitals were found to have overcharged COVID-19 patients and what action was taken by the government in such cases.
"The state government has received 63,398 complaints against hospitals which were not empaneled by the state government for COVID-19 treatment. Out of it, 56,994 cases have been resolved and refund of Rs 35,18,39,061 has been given to the patients or their kin, the reply said.
The state also received another 2,081 complaints against hospitals which were empaneled by the government for treating COVID-19 patients under various health schemes. Out of it, 774 cases have been resolved and refund Rs 1,20,66,168 was given," Tope said.
To another question, the health minister said, The government has recovered fine of Rs 61.34 lakh from 234 blood banks for not keeping their data updated. There are 350 blood banks in the state. The fine was collected between January and October this year. "There is a standing instruction to every blood bank to keep its blood availability data updated on its portal. If the data is not updated, Rs 1,000 per day is the fine," Tope said.
At the national level, average blood wastage is 5 per cent but it is 1.2 per cent in Maharashtra which is satisfactory, he added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
