Tukaram Mundhe's latest action plan on medical devices: MRP vs procurement prices revealed

After cracking down on Mumbai's food sector, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has turned to medical device pricing. A state survey found markups of up to 2,841% over procurement prices, prompting Mundhe to seek a review of pricing rules.

After an aggressive run at Mumbai's food sector, Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has now turned his attention to medical devices and their exorbitant price in the state.

Mundhe has written to the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), after a survey by the state government found that some hospital surgical consumables and medical devices were being sold at markups as high as 2,841% over their procurement prices, according to a Mint report.

The Maharashtra FDA commissioner has sought a review of the findings from the survey and an appropriate action. In his letter to the NPPA, he proposed capping trade margins and bringing essential categories of medical devices under structured price monitoring.

"Our survey has revealed an extraordinary disparity between the trade procurement price and the printed maximum retail prices (MRP) of medical devices used in inpatient care, reaching as high as 2,841% in some cases, including IV sets, syringes, nebulizers and oxygen mask products," Mundhe told Mint over phone.

What the govt survey found

According to the survey, private hospitals procured some of the medical devices at prices below their printed MRPs. For instance, catheters were procured at ₹29.41 against an MRP of ₹310, while IV infusion sets bought at ₹11.05 were billed to patients at ₹325.

The survey covers surgical items used in inpatient departments (IPD), including products such as IV sets, syringes, nebulizers, oxygen masks and catheters.

Why Mundhe wants pricing rules reviewed

According to Mundhe, such medical products remain outside the direct ceiling-price mechanism under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO).

The DPCO empowers the NPPA to regulate and enforce statutory ceiling prices for essential medicines and notified medical devices. However, Mundhe's survey found that many hospital surgical consumables are not covered by these strict price controls.

In his letter, Mundhe called for margin rationalisation, an inter-agency review and guidelines to regulate the permissible gap between trade procurement costs and declared MRPs.

"Unlike scheduled medicines under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, many categories of medical devices fall outside strict statutory price controls, allowing unchecked pricing practices to persist," he wrote.

NPPA examining pricing data

The NPPA is examining whether manufacturers and intermediary supply channels are adding large markups between wholesale procurement prices and the prices ultimately charged to patients.

Mundhe said the pricing disparity requires examination, including whether the differences could be linked to margins, product quality or other factors.

He added that the issue goes beyond pricing because patients often have limited information about the actual procurement cost of medical devices used during hospitalisation.

"This is not merely a pricing issue; it is a patient-protection issue," Mundhe said, adding, "There is a significant asymmetry of information in healthcare, with patients often unable to assess whether the price they are charged is reasonable."

He further said when a product procured at a low trade price carries an exceptionally high MRP, "it is the patient that bears the financial burden".

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