Stents pricing: Govt asks hospitals to make refunds prompt

Prices of coronary stents were slashed by up to 85% last week following complaints of overcharging

No action will be taken against hospitals under the scanner for overcharging on stents if they refund the money to patients before receiving a demand notice, drug price regulator NPPA said.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said the matter would end there for such hospitals if there were no further complaints.

"If the hospitals under the scanner refund money to patients before NPPA issues 'demand notice', the matter ends till there is no new complaint," the regulator tweeted.

Explaining that a 'show cause notice' (SCN) is issued for seeking an explanation from the hospital or company, it added that a 'Demand Notice' (DN) is issued when a violation is proved.

The regulator also said that "it would ensure complete audit of their angioplasty bills in the near future" but did not share details citing "request of patients who have got refunds and their concerns of follow-up need in the same hospitals".

The NPPA had on Friday said that its helpline has received complaints against Oxygen Hospital in Rohtak, Haryana and Bharat Heart Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand for overcharging on stents.

The regulator had earlier issued show cause notices to Max Hospital, Saket, New Delhi and Nidaan Multispeciality Hospital, Sonepat, Haryana.

It had also said it was investigating overpricing complaints against hospitals such as Lilavati Hospital (Mumbai), Max Saket (New Delhi), Metro Hospital (Faridabad), PGI Chandigarh, Ram Murti Hospital (Bareilly), and has alerted the concerned State Drug Controllers.

However, Max Healthcare and Lilavati Hospital have said they are in compliance with NPPA guidelines and have not overcharged patients for stents.

In a major relief to patients, the NPPA last week slashed prices of coronary stents by up to 85 per cent, capping them at Rs 7,260 for bare metal ones and Rs 29,600 for the drug-eluting variety.