Pvt hospitals oppose govt proposal to regulate treatment costs

Private hospitals have opposed the state government’s move to regulate prices for various treatments through an Act.

Reacting to the The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2017, tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, various private hospitals said that the state cannot fix rates or charges for different treatments provided by private medical establishments.

“It is not correct for the government to dictate the rates. Private enterprises should be permitted to charge based on their own infrastructure capability,” said Dr Nandakumar Jairam, director of Columbia Asia Hospital. The government should understand the cost of health care that is provided. It should also understand that there are different standards in different hospitals, therefore the rate differs, he said.

Private hospital representatives are planning to approach the government. “It has to be debated and decided by consensus. We need to get clarity on what kind of pricing the government is considering. Pricing for various treatments depends on the infrastructure and facilities,” said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, chairman, Manipal Hospitals, expressing the need to speak to the government on the issue.

According to Ballal, capping pricing will impair the growth of the healthcare sector in the state. “You cannot fix rates because each individual’s treatment is different and individual response is also different. They have not looked into all these issues,” said Dr H Paramesh, director, Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital.