‘Cautious’ hospitals adhering to knee implant price cap: NPPA

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority had publicly shared names of hospitals that charged above cap on cardiac stent prices

August 21, 2017 12:29 am | Updated 07:47 am IST

Mumbai: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is yet to receive complaints of overcharging or non-compliance, five days after it capped knee implant prices. Notwithstanding some confusion over the new pricing, hospitals and doctors say surgeries have not been affected.

Bhupendra Singh, Chairman, NPPA told The Hindu that their helpline answered queries on the pricing change, but no complaints were made. “We had adopted a harsh approach after the cardiac stent prices were capped. We had made public the names of hospitals against whom we had received complaints. So, healthcare service providers are definitely cautious this time.”

He added that several channels have been set up for the public to contact them, including a 24/7 helpline, dedicated email address, a WhatsApp account and a portal to forward grievances. The NPPA has also asked all State drug controllers to watch out for pricing errors.

The price cap on knee implants was announced on August 16. In keeping with the price ceiling, the most widely-used cobalt chromium knee implant will now cost ₹54,720, ones made of special metals like titanium and oxidised zicronium have been capped at ₹76,600 while high-flexibility implants will not cost more than ₹56,490. Revision knee surgeries that require more components have been capped at ₹1,13,950. All prices are exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Foreign makers to stay

A section of doctors had expressed concerns that the price cap may force foreign companies to quit the Indian market. Allaying their apprehensions, Mr. Singh said foreign-made knee implants will continue to be available. “Several companies have been in touch with us. We have considering them as well while working out prices. It is fair pricing and there is no reason why they should drop out. The new pricing has left adequate margins for research and development, innovation and profits for other stakeholders; only the 'profiteering' part has been slashed.”

On average, 1.5 lakh knee implant surgeries are performed in India annually. With increasing incidence of diabetes, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, obesity and increased awareness of the benefits of arthroplasty (joint replacement), it’s estimated that India is likely to witness an average 15% to 20% growth in this segment till 2030.

The NPPA says there are estimated 1.5 to 2 crore Indians who may require orthopaedic surgery interventions but remain largely undiagnosed, or are diagnosed but cannot afford the high cost of implants and knee surgery and are leading a life of low mobility and productivity. In comparison, though the USA has a much smaller population, it recorded about six lakh arthroplasties in 2010. “The price cap will curb unethical profiteering making the procedure affordable,” Mr. Singh said.

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