₹11 Product Sold at ₹325 MRP? Tukaram Mundhe Raises Alarm Over Huge Hospital Price Gap

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has raised concerns over.

The wide gap between the procurement cost and printed MRP of medical consumables used in hospitals, saying patients may end up paying substantially more without knowing the actual cost of the products.

In a social media post, Mundhe highlighted what he described as a major information gap in hospital billing. He said patients often have no way of knowing whether the price charged for a medical consumable reflects its actual cost or includes a substantial markup.

“The most expensive part of a hospital bill may never touch the hospital at all,” Mundhe said, arguing that patients undergoing treatment are generally unable to compare prices or explore alternatives for essential medical products.

₹11 Product With ₹325 MRP

Mundhe cited findings from a survey of hospital consumables in Maharashtra to illustrate the difference between trade prices and printed MRPs.

According to the figures he shared:

An IV infusion set with a trade price of ₹11.05 carried an MRP of ₹325, amounting to a markup of about 2,841%.
A syringe purchased at ₹6.75 had an MRP of ₹57.20.
A catheter with a procurement price of ₹29.41 carried an MRP of ₹310.

Mundhe stressed that these are medical products patients generally cannot choose to avoid during hospital treatment.

“These are not elective purchases,” he said, noting that people receiving medical care may not have the ability to compare prices, negotiate costs or seek alternative products at the time they are needed.

Mundhe Flags Pricing and Information Gap

According to Mundhe, the MRP of a medical product can be determined at an earlier stage of the supply chain by manufacturers and distributors and may differ significantly from the price at which the product is procured.

He described the difference between the trade price and declared MRP as an issue that can leave patients with limited information about the actual cost of products being used during treatment.

“The result is a system where the party bearing the cost has the least information to evaluate it,” he said.

Regulatory Gap for Medical Consumables

Mundhe also highlighted a difference in the way medicines and medical devices are regulated from a pricing perspective.

He said scheduled medicines are subject to price ceilings under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, whereas many medical devices and consumables do not face comparable price controls.

According to Mundhe, this can leave pricing and the information available to patients insufficiently monitored.

Recommendations Sent to Government Authorities

Mundhe said a review of the findings has been carried out and that recommendations have been made to the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

Among the measures proposed is the development of clearer guidelines governing the permissible difference between the procurement price of medical consumables and their declared MRP.

Such a framework, according to Mundhe, could address both the pricing disparity and the lack of information available to patients when they receive hospital treatment.

Mundhe has also been overseeing enforcement activities by the Maharashtra FDA, including inspections of food establishments and action against facilities found violating applicable regulations. The department has conducted raids and issued notices to several establishments, with enforcement action including closures in some cases.