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The Centre on Monday submitted its response to the Supreme Court urging states and union territories (UTs) to engage in broader consultations with multiple stakeholders to determine standardised hospital rates.
According to the documents examined by Business Standard, the ministry in its response said that the exercise to determine a standard rate requires consultations with all stakeholders including private players in the states and UTs, as a one-size-fits-all approach may not be feasible.
“This would require additional time to initiate the exercise and proceed further as it shall be both manpower and time intensive”, the ministry said in its response.
This move to hold consultations with states comes after the Supreme Court in February 2024 had directed the Centre to specify standard rates for private hospitals, in consultation with states.
The apex court had also warned against applying Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates for treatment services at private healthcare facilities until standardised rates are set.
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In its affidavit, the ministry informed the court that it had held a virtual meeting chaired by the health secretary, with the chief secretaries of all states and UT’s on March 19 requesting all governments to work out the standard cost of medical procedures and services.
Consultation imperative
“Many states have suggested that multiple rounds of consultations with stakeholders, including private players and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) may be needed, while some expressed that any rate range fixation may lead to compromise of quality of healthcare, rendering healthcare setups financially unviable”, the government said.
The centre’s affidavit also emphasised that fixation of rates may lead to serious issues like rendering healthcare setups financially unviable and many other players may jack up the prices. It may also render the healthcare sector uncompetitive considering the economic dynamics and interaction of market forces.
Other issues discussed at the meeting included the low adoption rates of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010. The Act mandates all clinical establishments to register themselves and provides a set of standard treatment guidelines for common diseases and conditions. Currently, only twelve states and seven UTs have adopted or implemented the Act.
SC to hear plea by hospital bodies
The Supreme Court has also sought a reply from the Centre after it agreed to hear a plea by an association of doctors and hospitals that questioned the government’s move to prescribe uniform fees for all hospitals.
A petition was filed by the All India Ophthalmological Society saying that the rates for procedures conducted by specialists could not be the same in metropolitan cities and small remote villages.
This comes after many private healthcare providers had shared apprehensions that medical costs are based on regional factors, recognizing that rates vary due to local conditions, types of healthcare services, procedure locations, clinical establishment types, and qualifications or experience, and that standardisation may render healthcare setups financially unviable in a competitive market.
The matter is now slated for hearing on September 10, 2024.
