Stent price control was a short-sighted move, right? Here’s how

Eight months ago, the drug regulator cut down hospitals’ margins. Now, the hospitals are making up for the lost revenue leaving the patient helpless

Hospitals have increased the price for angioplasty procedures by as much as 45% to make up for the loss of revenue

They have also started negotiating medical procedure prices with health insurance companies

Abbott has withdrawn two high-end stents from the Indian market and the supply of latest stents is also limited

The patients, who have undergone angioplasty at government-funded hospitals, are not affected by price control of stents

UPDATE: Another one bites the dust

By deciding to make a list of essential diagnostics, the big daddies of Indian health policymaking have taken the first step towards a milestone. The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) was just a list before it set the price of hundreds of medicines. Last year, the list grew to include medical devices—cardiac stents and knee implants. On 12 March, the Health Ministry and NITI Aayog consulted to create another list of essential diagnostics.

What comes next is anyone’s guess.

After three months of discussions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has convinced the health ministry to make certain diagnostics affordable.

AUTHOR

Ruhi Kandhari

Ruhi writes on the impact of healthcare policies, trends in the healthcare sector and developments on the implementation of Electronic Health Records in India. She has an M. Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.

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