Healthcare is an alarming sector for every individual. People are concerned not only with health perils but the expensive medications that follow as in the course of treatment. In a recent follow up on the Drugs Prices Control Order of 2013 an important press release came with a pertinent announcement. The press release came directly from Press Trust of India. It contained information about the ceiling prices that have been revised/fixed for various common controlled drugs including the ones for asthma, hypertension, and heart failure. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) issued the prices with various other rules and regulations. The order included a variety of controlled and uncontrolled drugs.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has been the country’s nominal head on pricing since its establishment. Though the clear result is five formulations have had their prices fixed; these formulations were the ones used for disorders and diseases that have been on the rise in the country. All the issues covered under the Order, 2013 have been mandated and are being implemented. It included the price of Metronidazole injection used for bacterial infection being revised. Including that 6 formulations have been revised or fixed by NPPA. The NPPA was also mandated to revise/fix the costs of a controlled bulk of drugs and formulations so that these prices could be enforced and drugs could be made available throughout the country.
All the manufacturers selling both standard and non-standard versions of the drug have been advised to revise the prices of these formulations and are ordered to sell them at a price lower than the ceiling price mentioned in the NPPA release. If the MRP of the drug is already lower than the ceiling price including the service tax, then that price can stay as it is. Such rules and regulations will keep the price of common controlled drugs in check, and all in all will be beneficial for the public in this GST era.
However, the costs of the uncontrolled drugs are heavily monitored by the Association to keep those prices at a reasonable level. This has been necessary as they don’t come under the direct control of the state but by keeping the retailers in check in remote areas and metropolitan areas has been a major concern for the government. That is the reason behind the order of 2013.
In another regulation, the Association will also recover the extra price charged by the manufacturers to the consumers. All the retailers and dealers have been ordered to release a price list for easy consultation by the consumer. All the manufacturers will also get their prices approved by the NPPA.
Thence, this order comes as a huge relief to the consumers and to the retailers who have already paid the GST while paying for the medicines and can no longer charge it from the consumer. As the order covers both kinds of drugs consequently the most common ones, monitoring them becomes that much easier. The ceiling prices have been so decided such that they do not hard hit the consumer post the new budget released in 2018.
