Angioplasty stents cheaper now, but patients may not get relief

 

Providing a big relief for the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) decided to fix the ceiling price for cardiac stents, effectively slashing the cost of the life-saving coronary stents by 85%. But apprehensions are on the rife that the influential stent producers, importers and hospitals might try to scuttle the good intentions of the much awaited regulatory move.

 

There are reports that the stent makers have stopped supplying the life-saving devices to government hospitals in the state after the NPPA order. The public health activists have warned against the alleged attempts by stent producing companies to fail the government's move to reduce the cost of heart surgeries including angioplasty considerably. 

 

State Drug Controller is keeping the close watch on the situation and warned stern action if the companies tried to create problems in the implementation of the NPPA order. 

Public health activists are concerned that the nexus between hospitals, stent producers and distributors might still find ways to keep the cost of angioplasty high by raising other expenses for surgery. 

 

Even though the quality of stents produced by Indian companies is on par with that of imported ones, the foreign produced stents are used in a majority of hospitals, says Dr B Iqbal, Kerala University former Vice-Chancellor and public health expert. 

 

Foreign players dominate almost sixty per cent of the stent market in India. The average cost of imported stents is between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000. The importers, distributors and hospitals add 100-120% margin, making the price soar to Rs.50,000 to Rs. 2 Lakh. The NPPA order is a welcome step to stop this practice. 

 

In 2016, the total hospital expenses for stent and angioplasty is over Rs.7,000 crores, which is 34% of the total budgetary allocation for the Health Ministry.

 

As per the statistics by the National Intervention Council of Cardiology Society of India, the country used Rs. 6.3 lakh stents in 2015, and spent Rs.3,784 crores on them. In 2016, the total hospital expenses for stent and angioplasty is over Rs.7,000 crores, which is 34% of the total budgetary allocation for the Health Ministry, Iqbal noted.

 

Public health activists are concerned that the nexus between hospitals, stent producers and distributors might still find ways to keep the cost of angioplasty high by raising other expenses for surgery. 

 

Putting a cap on the prices of coronary stents is indeed welcome.  If the government did not bring in a mechanism to check the hospitals from raising the cost of other expenses, it would prove the whole exercise futile. The government should also start producing stents in the public sector while ensuring that the hospitals follow the ethics and norms while undertaking angioplasty.