Question : MEDICAL EQUIPMENTS AT EXORBITANT RATES

(a) whether the Government has taken note of a large number of medical equipment like stents, etc. used in heart surgery and angioplasty being sold to the patients at exorbitant rates;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken/being taken by the Government to reduce/regulate the prices of such medical equipment;

(c) the details of the price fixed for such medical equipment under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), equipment-wise;

(d) whether many manufacturers including multi-national companies of such equipment have agreed to supply at the rate fixed under CGHS for the various government schemes; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)

(a)& (b): The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority under the Department of Pharmaceuticals has during a study regarding pricing of stents in the country observed that bulk of stents consumed in the country are imported and the difference between the landed cost and the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) thereof is very high. Cardiac stents fall under non-scheduled category under the Drugs Price Control Order, 2013, and as such, no ceiling price has been fixed for stents. However, the Order provides for monitoring the prices of non-scheduled formulations, to ensure that no manufacturer / importer / distributor is allowed to increase the MRP of a non-scheduled drug more than ten percent of the prevalent MRP during preceding twelve months and where the increase is beyond ten percent, it shall reduce the same to the level of ten percent of MRP for next twelve months.

(c) : The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) has fixed the following rates for re- imbursement:

 i)	Bare Metal Stents-(Stainless Steel)	Rs.10,000/-
ii)	Bare Meal Stents (Cobalt and other coated stents)	Rs.12,000/-
iii)	Drug Eluting Stents	Rs.23,650/-
iv)	Single Chamber pacemaker without rate response	Rs.34,840/- 
v)	Single Chamber pacemaker with rate response	Rs.44,928/- 
vi)	Dual Chamber pacemaker	Rs.83,200/- 
vii)	Bi-ventricular pacemaker (CRT-P)	Rs.1,95,000/- 
viii)	Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator	Rs.1,75,786/-	(Single Chamber) (ICD/ AICD- Single Chamber) ix)	Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator	Rs.3,75,000/-	(Dual Chamber) (ICD/ AICD –Dual Chamber) x)	Combo device (CRT-D)	Rs.4,90,000/- 
xi)	Aortic Stent Graft (expandable, bifurcated	Rs.4,40,960/-	and including delivery system) xii)	Rotablator with advancer	Rs.49,920/- xiii)	Rotablaotr Burr	Rs.23,920/-