The Centre has initiated discussions with medical sector representatives and private hospitals to examine trade margins and pricing practices for hospital consumables and medical devices, sources said.
The move follows concerns raised by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner over significant differences between trade prices and the maximum retail prices (MRPs) of hospital-use items. Union Health and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda has directed the Department of Pharmaceuticals to engage with stakeholders on the issue, according to sources cited by ANI.
The discussions are expected to focus on rationalising trade margins and examining mechanisms to improve transparency in the pricing of medical consumables and devices.
Experts Flag Pricing Gaps
Dr Vivek Srivastava, CEO of Multani Pharmaceuticals, said stronger mechanisms are required to ensure that essential healthcare products remain affordable. He pointed to the existing framework under the Drug Prices Control Order (DPCO) and called for periodic reconciliation of prices to address discrepancies.
Dr YK Gupta, President of AIIMS Kalyani and former chair of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) committee, also highlighted gaps in price regulation. He noted that medicines included in the NLEM are subject to price regulation, while non-scheduled medicines have greater pricing flexibility within the applicable regulatory framework.
According to Gupta, similar concerns exist in the case of medical consumables and devices such as syringes and gloves, where differences can arise between manufacturing costs, hospital procurement prices and the amount ultimately charged to patients.
He said pricing measures should protect patients while allowing hospitals to maintain reasonable margins, adding that excessive markups need to be addressed.
Parliamentary Panel Raises Private Hospital Pricing
The issue comes amid broader discussions on healthcare affordability. In August, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health recommended measures including a price cap on treatments provided by private hospitals.
The Centre’s stakeholder consultations could therefore form part of wider efforts to examine pricing practices across medicines, medical devices and hospital consumables.