Patna: State Congress general secretary and spokesperson Khawaza Ahtesham Ahmad on Tuesday urged Centre to strengthen healthcare price regulations to protect patients from rising treatment costs and address wide price disparities in medicines and medical devices.Referring to Supreme Court’s concerns over drug pricing and profit margins of manufacturers and traders, expressed on Monday, Ahmad, in a press release, said greater transparency and accountability were needed in the healthcare sector.“Unexplained price differences, inadequate transparency and the absence of effective safeguards could deepen the financial burden on vulnerable households,” he said.Ahmad called for a comprehensive review of the prices and trade margins of essential medicines and medical devices, transparent disclosure of treatment and diagnostic charges, and effective monitoring to prevent arbitrary billing.Welcoming Centre’s decision to cap trade margins at 30% for non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines, he said in the communique that similar safeguards should be extended to patients suffering from other serious illnesses.He urged Centre to curb excessive profit margins and reduce the prices of medicines and medical devices used to treat life-threatening non-cancer conditions to make healthcare more affordable for ordinary citizens.
