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Medicine prices shouldn't rise: SC
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SME Times News Bureau | 18 Nov, 2011
The Supreme Court Thursday told the central government that the prices
of medicines should not rise further. "Bring it down, don't escalate it
in the name of policy," the court said.
"It should go down, not go up," said the apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya.
The
bench said that the prices of medicines and lab tests were already too
high and cautioned the government to ensure that they did not shoot up
further.
"We are becoming insensitive to common man," Justice
Singhvi observed, saying that earlier a blood test used to cost Rs.60
now it costs much more.
"If there were no institutions like RML
(Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital), Safdarjung (Hospital) and AIIMS (All India
Institute of Medical Sciences), at least 10 per cent of the population
would be finished," Justice Singhvi said.
"We have become very
mechanical, the doctor prescribes (medicines) and we buy and claim
reimbursements. We have become insensitive to the concerns of the common
man," Justice Singhvi said.
The observation during the hearing
on a public interest litigation (PIL) by the All India Drug Action
Network (AIDAN), supported by NGOs, which had moved the court in 2003
seeking intervention to ensure that the prices of essential drugs
remained within the reach of common man.
The AIDAN has drawn the
court's attention to draft National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy,
2011, which, it said, if implemented would push up the drug prices.
Appearing
for AIDAN, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said the the government's
proposed policy would lead to further escalation of drug prices. The new
pricing policy would make drug prices independent of the cost of
manufacturing.
Additional Solicitor General Praga Tripathi told
the court that the new policy would take some more time to be given
effect, suggesting that there was no immediate cause of hike in drugs
prices.
Tripathi told the court that it would take at least three
months before any decision was taken on the policy because before being
placed before the cabinet for approval, it would be taken up by a group
of ministers.
The government in its affidavit told the court
that the new policy would bring all 348 medicines which figure in the
National List of Essential Medicines, 2011, and other associated
medicines under the price control regime.
Currently, only drugs
which figure in the First Schedule of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order,
1995, are under price control. These are 74 bulk drugs.
Under the proposed policy, the government plans to remove a large number of drugs from the price control regime.
The court adjourned the hearing till January 2012.
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