Archive · 6 Oct 2026
Patient Groups Seek Caps on Private Hospital Charges and Medicine Margins
Two patient groups want the government to limit what private hospitals can charge.
They say patients may face high bills for treatment, medicines, and medical supplies.
Abhay Shukla cited examples where hospitals charged much more than the purchase price of some items.
The groups also pointed to high reported surpluses at some large hospital chains.
They say a law passed in 2010 was meant to help regulate healthcare facilities, but has not worked effectively.
They want patients to know prices and have better protection from unexpected costs.
The Supreme Court has also raised concerns about medicine prices in hospital pharmacies.
It has asked the government to consider rules for medicine mark-ups.
Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment called for government limits on private hospital charges and mark-ups on medicines and medical supplies.
Abhay Shukla cited average daily bills of roughly ₹60,000–₹78,000 at leading corporate hospital chains, with reported surplus estimates varying by chain and year.
Examples cited included a medicine bought for about ₹180 and charged at ₹950, and an IV set bought for about ₹11.50 and charged at ₹160.
The groups said the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010, envisages government-determined charge ranges but has not been effectively implemented.
The Supreme Court has questioned steep hospital-pharmacy mark-ups and required purchases, and asked the government to examine trade-margin regulation.
- Who
- Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment, including Abhay Shukla.
- What
- They called for caps on private hospital charges and regulation of margins on medicines and medical consumables.
- When
- The groups issued their demand on Monday; the articles were published on October 5, 2026.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- They said patients face excessive and arbitrary charges, with little effective protection or recourse.
- Daily hospital bills
- Shukla cited average daily bills of about ₹60,000–₹78,000 at leading corporate hospital chains.
- Surplus estimates
- Reported estimates ranged from about ₹22 lakh to ₹55 lakh per bed annually, depending on the hospital chain and period cited.
- Medicine example
- One medicine reportedly purchased for around ₹180 was charged to patients at ₹950.
- Medical supplies examples
- An IV set bought for around ₹11.50 was reportedly billed at ₹160; a needle bought for 63 paise was reportedly sold for ₹4.
- Medicine analysis
- Shukla said an analysis of 46 medicines found median mark-ups of around 200–400%.
- Relevant law
- The Clinical Establishments Act, 2010, envisages government-determined ranges of charges; the groups said it has not been effectively implemented.
- Supreme Court scrutiny
- The court questioned a cancer medicine with a reported procurement price of about ₹2,700 and an MRP of about ₹27,000, and asked the government to examine trade-margin regulation.
- Proposed state measure
- Experts said Maharashtra could consider requiring hospitals to disclose procurement and selling prices, or limiting mark-ups to 30% in a state law.
