Par Panel bats for capping hospital room rates

New Delhi: The parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare has proposed capping private hospital room rates to match those of nearby three-star hotels to curb soaring medical bills. The recommendation, part of the committee's report, suggests linking private hospital room rents in major cities to the average tariff of three-star hotels in the area.

The committee highlights the lack of a transparent mechanism for setting room charges, leading to significant bill discrepancies between public and private sectors. According to the National Sample Survey, the average hospitalization cost was Rs 6,631 in government hospitals versus Rs 50,508 in private ones. For childbirth, out-of-pocket expenses were Rs 37,630 in private hospitals compared to Rs 2,299 in government facilities.

Hospital administrators argue that hotel room tariffs are inappropriate benchmarks for hospital room rents, as medical infrastructure, staffing, and support services differ. The committee emphasizes the urgent need to reduce out-of-pocket expenditures and proposes legal mechanisms to standardize and cap charges for essential treatments, require disclosure of treatment costs before admission, and establish a fast-track grievance redressal system for billing complaints.

Beyond room rents, the committee recommends standard package rates for common medical and surgical procedures, advance cost estimates for complex treatments, financial navigators to guide patients on costs, and 'Continuum of Care' packages covering screening, treatment, and palliative care under a single capped payment. The committee urges the government to increase public health spending to 2.5% of GDP, strengthen government hospitals, expand affordable medicines, and enforce stricter compliance with the Clinical Establishments Act.