Government admits problem of exorbitant pricing of drugs in SC for first time
The Indian government has acknowledged the issue of exorbitant drug pricing in corporate hospitals following pressure from the Supreme Court. The court suggested capping MRPs at 16% above the price to the retailer to prevent the exploitation of patients under government welfare schemes.
Why it matters
This intervention addresses the financial burden on common citizens and the potential misuse of public funds in government-sponsored healthcare programs.
NEW DELHI: With Supreme Court toughening its stand against poor patients being forced to pay exorbitant prices for medicines, govt on Tuesday admitted that there was a problem and assured the court it would make efforts to address it.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said there was no rationale for controlling the price of a few scheduled medicines and allowing the rest to be sold at inflated prices as all medicines are essential. It suggested a uniform rule limiting the MRP to not more than 16% above the price to the retailer (PTR).SG Tushar Mehta told SC that he had discussed the issue with official concerned.
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