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image captionMedical debt piled up as Covid hospitalisations soared in April and May
Hospitalisations soared in India during a deadly second Covid wave. Now, hobbled by patchy insurance, Indians are turning to crowdfunding to pay the steep medical bills, reports Astha Rajvanshi.
Supraja Reddy Yeruva was unable to breathe properly for days after giving birth to her second child in June. The 27-year-old began showing Covid-19 symptoms during her pregnancy, shortly after visiting a hospital for a routine check-up.
Soon, she contracted a severe lung infection and was admitted in the ICU at a private hospital in the southern city of Hyderabad. A month on, she is still there.
COVID leaves Indians with mounting medical debt | Coronavirus pandemic News
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Pandemic leaves Indians mired in massive medical debts
Krutika Pathi And Yirmiyan Arthur
Associated Press
Updated:
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Anil Sharma shows a photograph of his son Saurav who is being treated for COVID-19 at a private hospital in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 1, 2021. Life is tentatively returning to normal in India as coronavirus cases fall. But millions are embroiled in a nightmare of huge piles of medical bills. Most Indians don t have health insurance and costs for COVID-19 treatment have them drowning in debt. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW DELHI – As coronavirus cases ravaged India this spring, Anil Sharma visited his 24-year-old son Saurav at a private hospital in northwest New Delhi every day for more than two months. In May, as India s new COVID-19 cases broke global records to reach 400,000 a day, Saurav was put on a ventilator.
Most Indians don t have health insurance and treatment costs have them drowning in debt Published: July 26, 2021 09:13 AP Anil Sharma shows a photograph of his son Saurav who is being treated for COVID-19 at a private hospital in New Delhi, India. Image Credit: AP
New Delhi: As coronavirus cases ravaged India this spring, Anil Sharma visited his 24-year-old son Saurav at a private hospital in northwest New Delhi every day for more than two months. In May, as India s new COVID-19 cases broke global records to reach 400,000 a day, Saurav was put on a ventilator.
The sight of the tube running into Saurav s throat is seared in Sharma s mind. I had to stay strong when I was with him, but immediately after, I would break down as soon as I left the room, he said.