After industry blowback, Gujarat puts off differential pricing of angioplasty stents
This decision to put off the differential pricing was taken during a meeting in Gandhinagar of the governing body of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) — the state’s hybrid variant of the flagship central insurance scheme.
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Currently, all drug-eluting stents (DES), used to treat blocked heart arteries, are priced at Rs 35,000. (Credit: Pixabay)Following a pushback from Indian manufacturers, the Gujarat government Thursday put off its move under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to price angioplasty stents cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at twice the rate of those cleared by the Indian regulator.
The Indian Express, on April 2, had reported that the government would price stents approved by the FDA at Rs 25,000 each and those cleared by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) at Rs 12,000 each.
This decision to put off the differential pricing was taken during a meeting in Gandhinagar of the governing body of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) — the state’s hybrid variant of the flagship central insurance scheme.
Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said in a statement Thursday: “The decision of the Executive Committee for the price of stents used in angioplasty has been postponed in the Governing Body for now. A new decision will be taken after detailed discussions.”
Currently, all drug-eluting stents (DES), used to treat blocked heart arteries, are priced at Rs 35,000.
The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) had written to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, calling the Gujarat government’s differential pricing decision “discriminatory”. They said the move “will be seen as helping American MNCs capture back their lost market share at more favourable and profitable reimbursement”.
One cardiologist from Gujarat, seeking anonymity, said: “The government appears to be saying that products approved in India are inferior. In cases where the stent quality is bad, then they should not be given permission at all. It is the regulator, the DCGI, that needs to be raised to global standards like the US FDA.”
Officials of the Gujarat health department associated with these decisions, including Principal Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi and Health Commissioner (Urban) Harshadkumar Patel, have remained unavailable for comment on this matter.
A source close to developments told The Indian Express: “While certain US-approved stents cost higher and there is lower pricing in some Indian-made stents, the payments made to the hospitals under the scheme were the same. A decision was taken to make payments based on the type of product used on individual patients, and so two rates were decided. But in this meeting, there was discussion regarding promoting ‘Make in India’ products and that’s why it appears this differential pricing was set aside for now.”
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