Maharashtra FDA Flags Massive Markups on Hospital Consumables, Seeks Centre's Intervention
Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has urged the Centre to bring common inpatient medical consumables under DPCO 2013 after a survey found markups of up to 2,841%.
A market survey by the Maharashtra State Price Monitoring Resource Unit, operating under the state Food and Drugs Administration, has documented steep gaps between the procurement cost and retail price of everyday hospital consumables used in inpatient care.
The exercise examined pricing patterns for IV sets, syringes, nebuliser and oxygen masks, and other miscellaneous devices in retail and trade markets. Officials describe the findings as evidence of unchecked profiteering at the trade level.
Among the starkest examples, an IV set purchased for Rs 11.05 carried a maximum retail price of Rs 325 — a realised margin of 2,841 per cent. Another IV set brand showed margins of 2,091 per cent. A 10 ml syringe bought for Rs 6.75 was sold for Rs 57.20, while needles from one manufacturer were found to be priced at roughly three times their purchase cost.
An adult nebuliser mask kit with a purchase price of Rs 45 was sold to patients for Rs 652, and a catheter procured for Rs 29.41 was sold at more than ten times that amount. Across categories, the survey recorded markups of up to 29 times the procurement cost.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe described the escalation as irrational and unjustified. He argued that the initial procurement cost already covers a manufacturer's production, product development, marketing, distribution and profit margins.
Mundhe noted that hospitalised patients have no bargaining power because these consumables are non-negotiable during active treatment. He asked that common inpatient surgical consumables be brought under the regulatory ambit of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, saying the absence of strict statutory price caps permits trade-level profiteering and places a severe financial burden on the public.
To address the issue, he suggested an inter-agency review along with administrative, legal or policy measures such as capping trade margins and strengthening monitoring systems.