According to the reports of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), patients across the country have saved around Rs 15,000 crore under the government’s initiative of ensuring affordable and quality medicines for all.
Chemicals and Fertilizer’s Ministry has taken the step of fixation of ceiling prices and maximum retail prices of essential and lifesaving drugs, said the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh L Mandaviya said in a statement.
The central government announced the proposed plan on Tuesday by capping the prices of medicines as well as medical devices such as stents and knee implants, patients have been able to save Rs 15,000 crore across the country.
Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh L Mandaviyaalso added that the fixation of ceiling prices and MRPs of essential and lifesaving drugs, by implementing the Drug Prices Control Order (DPCO), 2013, has resulted in patients saving over Rs 5,000 crore since then.
Following the vision of Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to ensure health security for all citizens of India and this is a big step in the direction of ensuring that no citizen would suffer due to lack of affordable and good quality medicines in the country, said the Minister.
Furthermore he asserted, “These savings are in addition to approximately 10 lakh heart patients saving around Rs 8,000 crore since fixation of ceiling prices of coronary stents in February 2017, including re-fixation in February 2018 and around 1.5 lakh knee patients saving about Rs 2,000 crore since price fixation of knee implants in August 2017”, Mandaviya added.
