I am sure all of you have been following the news about various events affecting healthcare in our country. I would like to call your attention to a few recent events and decisions, which have a major impact on the healthcare scenario in India. A) The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has brought hundreds of drugs under price control. The recent announcements about pricing of bare-metal stents (known as BMS) and drug-eluting Stents (DES) at prices below Rs. 8000/- and below Rs.
30,000/-respectively have sparked huge debates in the press with opinions of Cardiologists, lay public and hospital managers. Let me assure you that DES were being billed at Rs. 1,30,000/- and more, by some hospitals. B) The recent article about MCI’s warning to 32 private medical colleges, threatening to debar them from admitting fresh batches for MBBS from this year, has also caused a wave of…
