Bengaluru: With frequent complaints from citizens about the rising cost of healthcare at private hospitals, the health department is mulling a cap on the price of basic procedures in private facilities to bring in some uniformity.Health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, speaking Tuesday at the culmination of a 15-day jatha for Right to Health, held across 31 districts since Feb 2, said he would soon move a proposal in this regard before the cabinet.Expressing concern over the increasing corporatisation of private healthcare, Rao said the govt should set a benchmark for medical procedure costs. “We don’t want to touch the complicated, high-end procedures for now. But the basic procedures should at least have some uniformity in their pricing. Our department has put together the proposal on this, which I’m planning to take to the chief minister and the state cabinet in the next two weeks,” the minister said.He added that once the proposal is approved, a committee including private stakeholders will be formed to provide inputs on the matter.
