Cancer care: Long battle for affordable treatment

In Bengaluru, a 45-year-old garment factory worker is battling stage IV-A mouth cancer, which requires costly chemotherapy, extensive surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Her monthly income of ₹28,000 makes the treatment expenses unaffordable, putting her final stages at risk. A 56-year-old shopkeeper from Mysuru, diagnosed with inoperable hypopharyngeal cancer, has also been facing financial difficulties.

After three rounds of chemotherapy, his disease showed partial response, and immunotherapy, a potential alternative, is financially unattainable on his income of ₹45,000 per month. Despite advancements in oncology, the high costs of treatment options remain inaccessible for many patients. Former National Health Authority CEO Indu Bhushan stresses the need for a multi-faceted approach to financial protection, addressing service purchasing, provider payment, patient access, and system quality assurance.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority's decision to cap trade margins on 137 identified anti-cancer medicines may bring some relief, with annual savings estimated at ₹2,500 crore. However, oncologists and patient-access advocates argue that controlling trade margins is only one aspect of the larger challenge. High manufacturer-level prices, limited affordable alternatives, and additional treatment costs continue to impact patients' ability to adhere to therapy.

Karnataka's Health Minister U.T. Khader has also raised concerns over pricing discrepancies, flagging instances where the difference between landing costs and printed MRP for 253 medicines and consumables is substantial, leading to markups ranging from 10 times to over 52 times the actual procurement cost. The State seeks wider price caps and measures to prevent excessive markups, particularly in high-cost life-saving drugs.