SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: Private hospitals in Karnataka will have to display the prices of scheduled medicines and treatment charges for public scrutiny, as the state government moves to improve transparency and curb alleged overcharging in healthcare facilities.
Health Minister UT Khader conveyed the decision during a meeting with representatives of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA) at Arogya Soudha in Bengaluru. The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, focused on the rising cost of medicines, expensive procedures and complaints about hospital billing practices.
The government’s decision follows measures aimed at reducing cancer drug prices. The Health Department is now focusing on other essential medicines that contribute to the financial strain on patients. Scheduled drugs, which can be dispensed only with a doctor’s prescription, will also have their prices displayed in hospitals.
Hospital representatives told the minister that pharmaceutical companies fix the base prices of medicines and that hospitals cannot independently reduce prices determined at the factory level. They urged the government to intervene with manufacturers and requested six months to put up boards listing treatment charges and medicine prices.
Khader declined to grant the requested extension outright. He said officials would be consulted before the government decided how much time hospitals would receive to comply. On non-scheduled drug prices, he said the matter was pending before the court and the government would take a final call after receiving the court’s directions.
The minister also raised concerns about the increasing role of corporate and foreign-funded entities in healthcare, alleging that profit-driven practices and treatment targets imposed on doctors could push up costs.
Questioning discrepancies in hospital bills and insurance claims, Khader said a procedure costing about Rs 1 lakh could reportedly attract a bill of Rs 3 lakh, with patients still being asked to pay Rs 50,000. The government would hold a separate meeting with insurance companies to examine these issues and introduce stricter regulations, he said.
Khader warned that hospitals could not use operating costs as a justification for excessive charges. He also criticised alleged medicine mark-ups, commissions and the promotion of high-priced drugs, promising action against practices that unfairly burden patients.
SOURCE : SIASAT
