Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has raised questions over the prices patients are charged for basic medical supplies used during hospital treatment.
Mundhe has pointed to a Maharashtra government survey that found a very large difference between the price at which some medical products were bought by private hospitals and the MRP shown on those products. In one example, an IV infusion set bought for Rs 11.05 had an MRP of Rs 325. The survey found a difference of 2,841 per cent in this case.
The survey looked at commonly used hospital items, including IV sets, syringes, catheters, nebulisers and oxygen masks. Another example cited in the findings showed a syringe bought for Rs 6.75 with an MRP of Rs 57.20. A catheter purchased for Rs 29.41 had an MRP of Rs 310.
What did Tukaram Mundhe say?
Explaining his concern, Mundhe said patients generally have little information about how the prices of medical consumables are decided.
“The most expensive part of a hospital bill may never touch the hospital at all,” Mundhe wrote in a social media post.
He said a patient receiving treatment may not know whether the price charged for a medical product is close to its actual cost or includes a large markup fixed earlier in the supply chain.
“The result is a system where the party bearing the cost has the least information to evaluate it,” he said.
In simple terms, Mundhe’s point is that patients are often in a weak position when it comes to checking the prices of medical products. When a person is admitted to a hospital, many items are required as part of the treatment, and there may be little opportunity to compare their prices with those available outside.
Why is Mundhe questioning the pricing system?
Mundhe has pointed to a difference between the rules governing medicines and those covering many medical devices and hospital consumables.
According to his explanation, many scheduled medicines are subject to price ceilings under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. However, several medical devices and consumables do not have the same type of direct price control.
This means there can be a significant gap between the price at which a hospital obtains a product and the MRP at which it may ultimately be billed to a patient.
Mundhe has argued that this is not only a pricing issue but also an issue of transparency for patients.
Mundhe asks Centre to examine the issue
Following the findings, Mundhe has recommended that the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) examine the issue.
He has suggested that authorities look at whether there should be clearer rules governing the difference between the trade procurement price of a medical product and its declared MRP.
The proposal does not mean that the government has already imposed a new price ceiling on these products. Any change in the pricing rules would require action by the relevant central authorities.
What does this mean for patients?
The issue raised by Mundhe is about transparency in hospital billing.
For example, if a hospital buys an IV set for Rs 11.05 and the product carries an MRP of Rs 325, the large difference can make it difficult for a patient to understand what part of the final bill represents the actual product cost and what part represents other charges or margins.
Mundhe has therefore called for the pricing system to be examined so that patients have better information about the products being used during their treatment.
His intervention comes while the Maharashtra FDA is conducting a wider enforcement drive under his leadership. The department has recently carried out inspections and action against several food establishments across the state.
