Pocket-friendly health: Price caps on critical medical devices extended

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has extended the price capping on oxygen concentrators and five other medical devices, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. Price caps were first introduced in 2021.

In a recent meeting conducted by the pricing regulator, MRPs of five essential medical devices were considered. These devices included pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitoring machines, nebulizers, digital thermometers, and glucometers.

Given the critical nature of the devices mentioned above, the meeting concluded that it is imperative to ensure the uninterrupted availability of these devices. To this end, the price regulation was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was extended in March 2023. The price capping was extended until June 30 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.

As the June 30 timeline has passed, the NPPA has decided to extend the price regulation further. According to a government notification on the subject, a cap at 70 per cent on the trade margin of oxygen concentrators was imposed at the first point of sale.

National Medical Device Policy 2023

The Centre is also working out a first-ever National List of Essential Medical Devices (NLEMD). To ensure the supply of pocket-friendly healthcare equipment, a new pricing policy is being formulated by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.

The pricing policy is a part of the National Medical Device Policy 2023 launched by the government to facilitate the growth of the sector while also ensuring accessibility and affordability, a senior health ministry official was quoted as saying in a report by ThePrint.

Patient rights groups have welcomed the move to regulate the prices of medical devices. Considering the contribution of expensive medical devices towards high hospital bills, this step may help ease the burden of high medical expenses.