Rising Costs Raise Concerns
Complaints about opaque tariffs and hidden costs in private hospital bills have prompted fresh concerns over healthcare affordability. A recent parliamentary panel report has recommended greater price transparency and mechanisms to regulate the cost of essential treatments, diagnostics and routine procedures.
The 176th Parliamentary Standing Committee report on “Affordability and Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities in Public and Private Sector” made around 368 recommendations. It noted that private healthcare accounts for more than 60% of inpatient care and 70% of outpatient care, particularly in urban areas.
The report highlighted that treatment in private hospitals can cost five to 10 times more than in government facilities. The average hospitalisation cost is around ₹6,631 in government hospitals compared with ₹50,508 in private hospitals.
As per a report published in BusinessLine, the panel also flagged excessive billing, unnecessary diagnostics and rising costs for routine procedures, which it said could push vulnerable families into debt and asset sales. It recommended mandatory price transparency before admission and faster grievance redressal for billing and insurance disputes.
Room Charges Under Scrutiny
The committee also recommended rationalising hospital room charges and suggested that they should not exceed the average tariffs of three-star hotels in the surrounding area. It proposed adding costs such as resident doctors, nursing, consumables, meals and laundry to the basic room tariff.
However, healthcare associations have opposed the hotel-based comparison, arguing that hospital rooms involve several clinical and regulatory services.
Dr Girdhar Gyani, Director General, Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI), said hospital rooms include nursing care, round-the-clock medical supervision, emergency support, monitoring equipment and infection-control measures. He suggested regulating the methodology used to determine room tariffs rather than using three-star hotels as a benchmark.
Industry Seeks Broader Cost Assessment
Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General, NatHealth, highlighted the nearly 25,000 healthcare compliances and other requirements that add to hospital costs.
The industry has sought measures including GST input tax credit or zero-rating, lower duties on healthcare equipment and concessional lending. It has also called for a comprehensive costing exercise covering different hospital categories, geographies and care settings before standardised treatment packages and room-rent benchmarks are introduced.
Overall, stakeholders agree on the need for greater transparency, but the industry maintains that any pricing framework must also account for the complex costs involved in delivering hospital care.