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The Supreme Court’s recent directive on proper enforcement of Clinical Establishment rules may pave the way for affordable treatment in the country. Under the rules, it is mandatory for hospitals to notify the rates of various medical treatments. But quite strangely even after the introduction of the rules fourteen years ago, it has hardly been followed anywhere in the country. On being asked about the reasons behind the non-compliance of the rules by the top court, the central government has put the blame on state governments by informing that it has not received any response from the states on this matter. The explanation only exposes lack of coordination between the Centre and the states on the healthcare sector. It will not be an exaggeration to say that medical treatment has become increasingly expensive in the country over the last few years, especially after the entry of private hospitals in the healthcare sector. Cost of treatment rose by 9.6 per cent in 2023 and may rise to 11 per cent in the ongoing fiscal. Clearly, it is time to take remedial measures to reduce the plight of the common people who are in dire need of quality medical attention.
Many believe that the entry of private players has changed the concept of healthcare services as lately healthcare is being treated as a business venture, rather than a philanthropic responsibility. Healthcare has now become an industry and it is solely being driven by profitability, ignoring the interests of thousands of people that gather in front of private hospitals every day. Moreover, many think that there exists a strong link between influential persons and private players which is preventing the government from acting against hefty charges of private hospitals. It should be noted that while the government has control over fixing charges for medical treatments in government hospitals, it can at best play an advisory role in case of private hospitals, which in turn has allowed various private hospitals to charge differently for offering treatment, causing great inconveniences to the people. On many occasions, questions have been raised about the exorbitant rates of private hospitals but the cry for affordable healthcare has gone unheeded every time . It is quite strange that even after repeated allegations of excessive billing by private hospitals, no action has so far been taken against any of the erring hospitals despite the fact that many hospitals have have bought government land at subsidised rates after furnishing an undertaking to the government to serve marginalised people at lower rates. In this regard, as per the observation made by the Supreme Court, the government should require all private hospitals to prepare a fee structure similar to the CGHS rates and standardise rates all over the country to reduce the burden on people receiving treatment. At present in the absence of uniformity for hospital charges, many of India’s citizens are finding it difficult to avail quality treatment. In such a situation, adhering to the directive of the Supreme Court is a must to provide relief to the common people.