Responding to specific queries on the issue, Bhupendra Singh, NPPA chairman, told The Indian Express that “examination of hospital records is in process”.
AFTER the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) in February ordered a cap on the prices of coronary stents and directed hospitals to issue separate bills specifying their cost, the drug pricing watchdog has started receiving consumer complaints against hospitals which are allegedly hiking the prices of the non-stent components in their bills.
“We have received some complaints against hospitals where prima facie it appears that they have increased the prices of other components. The stent price has been kept the same. This is to neutralise the dent on profits that has occurred due to the cap on stent price. The NPPA is getting these cases investigated,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.
Responding to specific queries on the issue, Bhupendra Singh, NPPA chairman, told The Indian Express that “examination of hospital records is in process”. Hospitals, meanwhile, claimed that angioplasty costs have come down by 20-25 per cent after the NPPA’s intervention.
According to a senior executive from one of the major medical device companies, many hospitals continue to overcharge through other ways. “There are hospitals which have capped the stent prices, but they have increased the prices of all other expenses that are incurred during the angioplasty. Ultimately, in many cases, the patient is still not getting the full benefit of this price cap,” he said.
Between February 13 and March 15, the NPPA received such complaints against 40 hospitals, including Metro Hospital in Faridabad, KEM Hospital in Mumbai and Max Hospital in Delhi.
But a Max Healthcare spokesperson said that after the NPPA order, the cost of angioplasty — where a stent is used — has come down by “approximately 20-25 per cent in Max Hospitals”.
Asked about the complaints of overcharging, the spokesperson said: “No complaint has been filed against our hospitals for overcharging in respect of coronary stents which are covered under NPPA order. One of the patients of Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket has complained to NPPA regarding high price of stent charged, in response to which the hospital has already submitted its detailed response clarifying that the stent used for the treatment of that patient was not a coronary stent and is not covered within the purview of NPPA order. We have already submitted all the documents and information (including number of stents used and price charged in respect thereof) as required by NPPA and drugs control department.”
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