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MP expresses concern over US medical device industry's attempt to exert political pressure on India against price control on medical devices
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Ramesh Shankar, Mumbai
October 27 , 2017
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A Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Punjab, Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi,
has expressed concern over the attempt of the US medical device industry
to exert political pressure on India against the price control on
medical devices. The medical device MNCs are demanding the withdrawal of
General System of Preference (GSP), which gives lesser tariff to export
certain products from India to USA, to exert pressure on the government
of India to reconsider its decision on price control of medical
devices.
In a letter to Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and
Industry, the MP said that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
(NPPA)'s decision to fix the maximum retail price of cardiovascular
stents and knee implants have brought great relief to the patients.
Prior to the price fixation patients were at the mercy of the hospitals
and doctors, who use to charge high margins from the patients. The
markup in the case of cardiovascular stents was between 650 to 1000
percent. This exploitation was carried in collaboration with the medical
devices MNCs.
In the absence of effective and efficient public
health care system, nearly 83% of the people are going to the private
healthcare facilities. Therefore, price control of health products such
as medicines, vaccines, and medical devices is the only effective
intervention available in the hands of the government to safeguard the
people from the exploitation of hospitals and corporation. Our
Constitution under Art.21 makes it obligatory for the government to
ensure access to health products at affordable price. Therefore the
decision of NPPA to fix the price is a right step in fulfilling the
constitutional obligation, Dr Gandhi said.
The government should
not buckle under pressure from the industry or the USA. We should uphold
our sovereign right to protect peoples' health. In this regard, it is
worthwhile to note that the UN has adopted sustainable development goals
(SDG), which is applicable to all countries including the USA. SDG 3 is
on health i.e. ensuring healthy lives and promotes well being for all
at all ages. Steps like price control are important steps to achieve
SDG3.
It is now in the public domain that the manufactures of
cardiovascular stents and knee implants were acting in cohort with the
hospitals to keep the prices high. This business practice clearly
violates the provisions of completion law of India. Therefore I request
the government to ask the Competition Commission of India to carry out
an investigation, Dr Gandhi in his letter to the Minister said.
Further,
I also understand that India has enough policy space to increase the
import tariffs of medical devices such as cardiovascular stents and knee
implants from the current applied level to WTO bound level. In case of
any action from USTR to withdraw partial or full GSP withdrawal should
be retaliated with increasing tariffs of not only medical devices having
domestic manufacturing capabilities but also on some of the luxury
goods like Harley Davidson bikes, he further demanded.
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