Maharashtra regulator flags up to 2,841% markup on hospital devices, seeks national price review
Maharashtra Food and Drugs Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said some hospital consumables are being sold at markups as high as 2,841% and has asked the NPPA to review pricing rules.
A Maharashtra government survey uncovered that certain surgical consumables and medical devices used in inpatient care are priced up to 2,841% above their trade procurement cost, affecting products such as IV sets, syringes, nebulizers and oxygen masks. Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe of the state's Food and Drugs Administration sent a letter to the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority urging a review of the findings and consideration of margin caps or structured price monitoring for essential device categories.
The survey highlighted that these items fall outside the ceiling-price mechanism of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, allowing manufacturers and distributors to set high MRPs. NPPA officials are cross-checking company filings and have received similar concerns from Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Hospital representatives, such as Aakash Healthcare’s managing director Aashish Chaudhry, stressed the need for a balanced approach that ensures transparency without harming hospital sustainability. Mundhe emphasized that the issue is a patient-protection matter, given the information asymmetry that forces patients to bear inflated costs.
Why it matters
Excessive markups on medical devices increase patient expenses and highlight gaps in price regulation.
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