Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 20: The Centre has begun consulting private hospitals on billing. Maharashtra FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe sought the review. Hospitals say price gaps do not equal profits.
The Centre has started consultations on surgical consumables prices. The move follows a call from Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. He sought a national review of hospital markups. A Maharashtra survey reportedly found markups reaching 2,841% in certain cases. That compares MRPs with trade procurement prices. It is not a profit figure.
Maharashtra Survey Puts Markups Under Scrutiny
The survey covered surgical consumables and medical devices. It compared procurement prices with maximum retail prices (MRPs). Some products reportedly showed very large gaps. The report does not tie the top figure to any product.
FDA commissioners in Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu sent similar inputs. Mundhe wrote to the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). He also wrote to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). He sought a review of the findings. Possible measures include trade-margin caps or structured price monitoring. Neither has been approved.
Centre Consults Private Hospitals
The DoP convened an urgent meeting on Thursday. It sought to understand hospital billing and procurement economics. It also looked at inpatient-care costs.
Max Healthcare, Jeewan Hospital, Marengo Asia, Aakash Healthcare and Yashoda took part. So did Ficci’s Delhi-NCR representatives. No price-control decision has been reported.
Hospitals Challenge MRP-Profit Comparison
Hospital representatives said printed MRPs do not directly show profits. Dr Girdhar Gyani represents the Association of Healthcare Providers (India). It speaks for around 30,000 private hospitals. He said hospitals do not charge above the legal MRP. He said NPPA fixes MRPs, not hospitals.
He cited administration, infection control, nursing and storage costs. He noted insurance package rates are pre-fixed. Picking a few consumables, he said, could misrepresent overall economics.
Dr Shuchin Bajaj of Ujala Cygnus hospital agreed extreme gaps deserve scrutiny. But he said equating them with profit would be inaccurate. He said manufacturers and distributors fix MRPs upstream.
NPPA Framework Comes Into Focus
Scheduled drugs face statutory ceiling prices under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. Non-scheduled consumables do not. Their MRP increases face annual limits instead.
The items under discussion include IV sets, syringes and catheters. They also include nebulizer oxygen masks, cannula extension lines and filters. These sit outside direct ceiling prices. Bajaj welcomed an evidence-based NPPA framework. It would rationalise margins across manufacturers, distributors and hospitals.
Patient Affordability Meets Hospital Economics
Large price gaps raise transparency questions. Hospitals also carry costs beyond buying consumables. Bajaj cited sterile storage, inventory wastage and clinical infrastructure. Any framework must weigh both sides. Bajaj said it should consider patient affordability and operational sustainability.
What Happens Next
Mundhe called the consultation a starting point. He wants concrete outcomes, not only discussion. The DoP, NPPA and several hospitals had not responded to queries. Any intervention would need further regulatory consideration. The outcome remains open.
