The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, is calling for strict action against private diagnostic labs and doctors who they believe are taking advantage of patients by charging high fees for medical tests. Uppair Narasimha, a member of the CPM District Committee, submitted a formal request to the Additional Collector at the District Collector’s office to cancel the licenses of these labs and take action against the doctors involved.
Narasimha explained that many people are ending up in hospitals due to poor sanitation and an increase in mosquito-borne diseases. However, once in the hospital, they are being further exploited by private labs. The CPM team visited several hospitals and labs in the area, such as Vennela, Bindu, Sagar, and Aditya, to investigate the situation. They spoke with patients and found many concerns.
One major issue Narasimha pointed out is that private labs are often conducting tests directly without any referrals from doctors. In some cases, unregistered technicians or trainees are performing these tests, which affects the quality and reliability of the results. He also raised concerns about the transparency of labs like YUVI, which do not provide test kits to patients after conducting tests, only giving them reports.
Narasimha criticized doctors for ordering expensive tests, such as dengue tests, without first conducting simpler and cheaper tests like ELISA. He accused these doctors of trying to make more money by ordering unnecessary tests. Narasimha urged district medical authorities to investigate these practices thoroughly.
He also demanded that all labs display a price list for their tests. Many labs are not following this rule, and patients, especially those from rural areas and those who are illiterate, are not being given proper bills—just the test reports. Narasimha pointed out that labs are charging very high fees for dengue test kits, which cost only ₹150-₹200 but are being billed at ₹1200-₹1500.
Additionally, Narasimha noted that diagnostic reports should be signed by an MD pathologist, but often, lab technicians are signing them instead. He questioned why only 132 labs are registered with the District Medical and Health Department when many unregistered labs are operating in rural areas without any oversight.
Narasimha also accused some doctors of referring patients to specific diagnostic centers for their own profit. These doctors insist that patients get tests done only at the centers they recommend, which adds financial pressure on the patients.
Finally, Narasimha expressed concern that due to poor documentation and reporting, district health authorities do not know the actual number of dengue, malaria, and typhoid cases. This lack of information makes it harder for the government to control these diseases.
The CPM is demanding immediate action from district medical authorities, including inspections of private hospitals and labs, cancellation of licenses for unregistered labs, and the establishment of fair pricing guidelines based on the capabilities of diagnostic machines. If their demands are not met, CPM has warned that they will organize large-scale protests.
Several labor leaders, including S. Raju, D. Shivakrishna, Veeresh, Anjaneyulu, Balaram, and Shiva, participated in this campaign.
