India to regulate device and Dx pricing
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Draft legislation to regulate the price of medical devices and diagnostic kits in India will soon be introduced to parliament to help reduce the cost of healthcare. The legislation aims to increase the level of competition between medtech companies through measures such as ensuring that all devices and kits are ISO certified and that they adhere to preset standards. The proposed regulation was announced by Kapil Sibal, the union minister of science and technology, on December 15. He was reported to have said that India aspires to achieve the lowest cost healthcare in the world, and he called for the setting up of more medical colleges and institutes for nurses and paramedics. He also said that India should find its own model of healthcare that would suit the pockets of its citizens; he cautioned against emulating the systems of developed countries that would not work for India as the majority of people, including the swelling middleclass, cannot afford rising healthcare costs. Medical technologies are said to constitute 30-40% of health costs in India.