Fall in rates will ensure affordability, availability
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority's (NPPA) announcement to heavily slash the prices of life-saving coronary stents, which are used in cardiac surgeries, is a step in the right direction, and will come as a respite for patients. The decision will go on to make this life-saving device easily accessible and affordable, and also ensure transparency in procurement. Over-priced stents, over-prescription and excessive and needless laboratory tests are major contributors towards rising medical bills, which remained unchallenged so far. The most common stents used in the country are the drug-eluting stent and the bioresorbable stent, which were priced between Rs 24,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 1.7 lakh to two lakh rupees respectively. The NPPA has come down heavily to fix the price of bare metal stent at Rs 7,500 and that of drug eluting stent and biodegradable stent at Rs 30,000 each. A reduction in stent prices will make enormous reduction in the overall cost of surgeries. This also brings an end to speculation about the inclusion of this device in the National list of Essential Medicines.
Sadly, patients were forced to shell crores of rupees due to overpriced stents to open up their clogged arteries. Most importantly, the Government's move is bound to come as a shock for stent manufactures, distributors and hospitals — all were equally responsible for raking up the price of this device as it passed on from one stage to the other. From its origin (at the manufacturing stage) to the end receiver (the patient), the stent was passed on through several hands and in the process, a bulk of the margin was being paid to each one of them before the patient was finally billed profoundly in the hospital — the price was raised by almost 10 times. In particular, conning the clientele had become a regular business for hospitals for whom the sale of stents had been a source of revenue generation.
It is encouraging that to ensure transparency, the NPPA has asked the hospitals to bill the stents separately. It has not set any time-frame for the hospitals and manufacturers to comply with its orders. No transition period would mean that they will have to immediately withdraw their stents and replace them with new ones at the earliest. Most manufacturers and distributors have already withdrawn the latest generation of cardiac stents to re-label them, but the NPPA must ensure that this does not lead to a shortage of availability of these essential devices, a shortage that can cost the life of patients. The Indian stent industry is worth $500 million and is expected to grow leaps and bounds in the coming years. A reduction was also important because the number of people coming to India for treatment has been growing. Surely, with this, a balance too will be maintained between the increased footfall in the country and the availability of equipment and facilities. Moreover, this decision is in line with the Government's resolve to provide affordable healthcare to all.