New Delhi, Shares of hospital operators such as Fortis Healthcare and Max Healthcare ended lower on Wednesday after a parliamentary committee recommended that a private hospital room in a metropolitan city should not cost more than the average tariff of a three-star hotel room in the vicinity.
A private hospital room in a metropolitan city should not cost more than the average tariff of a three-star hotel room in the vicinity, a parliamentary committee has recommended as part of a series of measures to make healthcare more affordable and curb out-of-pocket expenditure.
Shares of Fortis Healthcare tanked 5.64 per cent, Global Health Ltd dropped 3.11 per cent, Max Healthcare Institute declined 3.08 per cent, Jupiter Life Line Hospitals dipped 2.25 per cent, and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise edged lower by 2.13 per cent on the BSE.
The BSE Hospitals index fell the most by 2.87 per cent to end at 5,188.14.
The 176th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, titled “Affordability and Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities in Public and Private Sector” said room charges in private hospitals, particularly in metropolitan cities, need to be rationalised on an “emergent basis”.
The report was tabled in Parliament on August 7.
The panel recommended making the three-star hotel tariff benchmark mandatory for all private hospitals in large metropolitan cities. Resident doctor, nursing, disposable consumable, meal and laundry costs may be added to the basic room tariff, it said.
It also recommended that the government mandates all tertiary care hospitals to provide patients with a comprehensive and legally binding upfront cost estimate before starting any complex or prolonged medical intervention.
Hospitals should also deploy dedicated financial navigators to help patients and their families understand treatment costs, available philanthropic assistance and health assurance limits, it said.
It also flagged medical inflation of 10-13 per cent and differential billing practices linked to room categories.
The panel recommended eliminating room-rent-linked inflation models for standard procedures across private hospitals and putting in place standardised treatment guidelines and mechanisms to cap arbitrary price variations.
*As of 1:00 pm on Thursday, Fortis shares were up 1.19%, Global Health Ltd down 0.036%, Max Healthcare Institute up 0.84%, Jupiter Life Line Hospitals up 2.39% and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd up 0.27%.
