Private hospitals are under the center’s supervision due to increased fees amid growing concerns about the high cost of private health care. The government is considering ways to limit medical costs, including potentially placing a cap on trade margins on a variety of medical devices, CNBC TV18 reported.
The Ministry of Health is reviewing a proposal to limit the margins that hospitals can charge on a wide range of medical devices, CNBC Awaaz reported, citing sources. This comes amid increasing scrutiny over overbilling by private hospitals.
The report said that under the framework being reviewed by the government, hospitals would not be allowed to bill more than a fixed margin on the cost of medical devices or their final price.
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In order to determine how to implement this limit, in an effort to reduce the financial burden on patients, the government is reportedly in discussions with stakeholders including insurance companies and representatives of the medical device industry.
The report said that such a cover may be placed on both low-cost daily use devices such as syringes, cannulas, and gloves, as well as on more expensive devices including pacemakers, heart valves, and others.
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Hospitals charging exorbitant fees?
Investigations indicate that hospitals sometimes charge up to 10 to 30 times the real cost of some medical equipment. The CNBC Awaaz report cited some examples, saying that A $You may be billed for 3 injections $30, or an IV cannula costs approx $Can charge 6 in $120.
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The same pattern can also be observed in high-value devices, such as pacemakers, which cost approx $It is said that 25,000 were invoiced $2 lakh, and heart valves, which are imported, are billed high $26-30 thousand, while its actual cost is $The report said: 4 thousand.
The cap on hospital bills is also intended to promote transparency in the healthcare sector and reduce pressure on patient pockets as well as on insurance premiums.
The health insurance industry is hurting from hospital bills
Rising hospitalization costs have also affected the health insurance industry, as premiums may increase by 10-15% over the next year and a half or so, with medical inflation rising at an annual rate of 14-15% per year, as reported by CNBC-TV18.
Among the main factors affecting health insurance costs are rising hospital fees, advanced treatments and the high frequency of claims, according to experts.
