Move to Curb Markups Welcomed Amid Some Concerns

Nursing homes and hospitals have welcomed a proposal by the Delhi government to cap profit margins of private hospitals and regulate the costs of medicines, diagnostics and consumables. They have, however, cautioned that the “government should understand that making profit is not wrong and that they should not be squeezed out of business”. Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI), which represents leading research-based medical technology companies, also welcomed the government’s plan to regulate manufacturing, import and sale of critical medical devices such as pacemakers, CT scanners, X-ray machines, etc.

MTaI statement

“The association believes such a decision will ensure that only high-quality products will be used in healthcare of patients and will discourage production and usage of sub-standard products. This has to be quickly and elaborately communicated to all manufacturers and importers to ensure timely compliance,” the MTaI said in a statement. It also said that currently many government departments have impinged on the medical electronic device sector and this has created problem of jurisdiction as well as inter-departmental delay in decision-making.

“For instance, X-ray machine suppliers need to comply with regulations of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as well as the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board at several steps, ranging from importing to operating by users. We believe implementation of these new regulations to the aforementioned medical devices will not only erase overlap, but will also result in less red-tape, thereby helping in ease of doing business in the country,” the MTaI added.

In a press conference on Monday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that hospitals can no longer charge a markup on essential medicines and that they will be sold at MRP, adding that hospitals cannot force the patients to buy those from their internal pharmacies. “We welcome these moves as this could result in reduction of hospital bills. Also, for non-essential medicines, the cap would be at 50 percent above MRP. The Minister has also clamped down on ‘packaged surgeries’,” said Delhi Medical Association member Dr Anil Bansal.

Government regulations

The government has regulated that apart from the cost of surgeries, in case of death, 50 percent of the fees must be returned to the patient’s family within six hours of hospitalization, and 20 percent of the bill will be waived within 24 hours of hospitalization. This provision, however, did not go down too well with the hospitals and other medical establishments. Moreover, the hospitals will also have to hand over patients’ body to their families even if the dues are not cleared.

“We respect the spirit behind the advisory but the Delhi government has to understand that hospitals and nursing homes are business ventures too, which have to make profit to stay afloat. We cannot run on charity. The government should also protect our interests and not choke us out of business,” said an owner of a local nursing home in east Delhi. – The Hindu