Centre flags hurdles in regulating hospital mark-ups on medicines and consumables

The Supreme Court is examining concerns over the high prices patients pay for medicines and medical consumables supplied by hospitals. The concern is whether hospitals are charging excessive mark-ups over their purchase costs and whether stronger price controls are needed.

In its latest response, the Centre has reportedly told the Court that reliable data on hospitals’ purchase costs and patient charges is lacking, making it difficult to determine the extent of these mark-ups. It has also flagged a legal hurdle: existing price-control rules do not cover every product sold by hospitals. Any wider controls would therefore require both evidence of the problem and clear legal authority to regulate the products concerned.