Ever since the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed the ceiling prices of stents on February 14, 2017, the country’s drug price regulator has received written complaints against 24 major hospitals for overcharging of coronary stents. In most of the cases, the NPPA is waiting to receive the bill copy to take further action in the matter.

Max Hospital, Saket, New Delhi; Metro Hospital, Sec-15, Faridabad; St. Philomenas Hospital, Vivek Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka; Ram Murti Hospital, Bareilly, U.P; PGI Hospital, Chandigarh; Lilawati Hospital, Mumbai; QRG Central Hospital & Research Centre Ltd, Faridabad; Oxygen Hospital, Rohtak; Bharat Heart Institute, Dehradun; Nidan Hospital, Sonipat; Six Sigma Medicare & Research Ltd, Nasik, Maharashtra; Healing Touch Hospital, Ambala; King Edward Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra; Anand Hosptial, Meerut; Caurvey Hospital, Siddartha Layout, Near Teresian Collage, Mysuru, Karntaka; Global Hospital, Link Road, Jalandhar; Metro Heart Institute with Multispecialty, Sec-16A, Faridabad, Haryana; Agarwal Nursing Home, Haryana; Allahabad Heart Centre, Kamla Nehru Rd, Civil lines Allahabad U.P.; K.E.M Hospital Acharya Donde Marg, Parel Mumbai; and Sun Medical and research centre, ST Nagar, Kannamkulangara, Thrissur, Kerela are the hospitals against whom the NPPA has received complaints.

Earlier on February 13, 2017, the NPPA had issued a notification fixing the ceiling prices of stents. Under the notification, it had fixed the ceiling price of Drug Eluting Stents (DES) and bioresorbable stents at Rs.29,600 and that of bare metal stents at Rs.7,260. The fixed prices ceiling was to be effective from February 14, 2017.

The notification had stated that institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and clinics utilizing coronary stents shall specifically and separately mention the cost of the coronary stent along with its brand name, name of the manufacturer, importer, batch number and other details, if any, in their billing to the patients or their representatives.

But, according to NPPA sources, several hospitals across the country, including prominent ones, have been found flouting the NPPA directive as it was observed from the bill copies received along the with the complaints from the patients and complainants that hospitals are not complying with the instructions specified in the NPPA notification.

This is a serious non-compliance of government orders. The hospitals are directed to comply with the instructions given in the order and to issue detailed bills to the patients clearly mentioning the brand name, name of the manufacturer, importer, batch number and other details, if any, of stents. Non-compliance of these instructions shall now be treated as deliberate distortion of evidence along with charges of overpricing. Such cases may also be taken up for prosecution under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the NPPA has now warned the hospitals, nursing homes and the clinics.