Hospitals can bear up to 2% hike in costs due to GST: Apollo Hospitals

Anything beyond 2% would have to be passed on to patients, as it cannot be absorbed by hospitals

Even though the health care sector is exempt from the goods and services tax (GST), hospitalisation costs are estimated to go up by four to five per cent under the new indirect tax regime, said Prathap C Reddy, founder-chairman, Apollo Hospitals. Indicating that hospitalisation costs are likely to go up after the introduction of GST, Reddy said hospitals could bear the brunt of GST up to two per cent. “Anything beyond that we would have to pass it on to patients,” he said.

The cause behind a probable rise in costs maybe a higher tax rate on certain ancillary medical