Private hospital chains in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) are fleecing cancer patients by overcharging them for life saving drugs used in chemotherapy in the absence of any clear cut norms in place either by the Health Ministry or Government regulators like the Medical Council of India and Indian Medical Association.
Chemotherapy is the first line of treatment for cancer, the other two being surgery and radiation. Two vital drugs —Erbitux and Avastin — are imported and the private hospitals compel the patients to purchase the drugs from their chemists and charge the printed maximum retail price (MRP).
Retail chemists in the open market charge way below the MRP and three vials
are given free on purchase of nine vials. But the private hospitals charge for all the 12 vials used in six cycles for one round of treatment.
Depending upon the type and stage of the disease, the drugs are repeated. One cycle involves two dosages of the drugs and is repeated after two weeks. Each cycle takes 48 hours to transfuse the medicine to the patient who is required to be hospitalised for two-three days.
One dose (500 ml) of every cycle of Erbitux, the first line life saving drug, costs `78,769 in the open market but the corporate hospitals extract `1,01,000. The total cost of Erbitux at a private hospital for one round of therapy thus entails `12,12,000 besides the hospitalisation charges as against the drug being available in the open market at about `7 lakh.
likewise, a vial of Avastin costs `21,000 including five per cent VAT and four vials are required for one dose but the private hospitals extort `29,423 for a vial and `1,17,692 for a dose of four vials. Avastin is the second line of therapy under chemotherapy.
For one round of treatment with Avastin, a patient has to shell out over `14,12,000 excluding the hospitalization charges in contrast to the actual cost of the drug being just `7,56,000, according to bills of private hospitals and receipts of these medicines issued by chemists in the open market.
Over `12 lakh is extracted by these hospitals from a patient for undergoing one round of chemotherapy involving these two vital drugs. The patient has to further shell out lakhs of rupees towards hospitalization charges, doctors’ visit and for other medicines that are administered along with the life saving medicines.
Former Associate Professor of Nepalganj Medical College, Nepal, Dr Arun Kumar Sharma, who is a cancer patient, said, “A clear policy should be formulated by the Health Ministry enabling the patients with a right to purchase the life saving drugs from a chemist of their choice. The private hospitals should display the price list of the life saving drugs to enable the patients to make an informed choice.”
“Patients are being looted by the private hospital chains and the Government should ascertain the number of the patients extorted so far and recover money overcharged by along with an interest rate of 12 per cent and refund to the hapless cancer victims,” Dr Sharma said.
A number of top functionaries of the regulatory bodies protect the private hospital mafias as they happen to be on their board of governors, he said, adding even the doctors at such health facilities are unable to help the patients.
Sharma’s attempts to seek information under the Right to Information Act on the existing policy on pricing of life saving drugs from the Health Ministry and medical regulators suggested lack of any framework in place for regulating the pricing or sale of life saving drugs.