Sir,
From April 1, 2022, the majority of drugs have become costlier, and the poor patients are doomed to suffer, which is being termed as the highest ever price hike in the country. Even the drugs under price control mechanism many seem no more affordable for the majority of the common people, since they have already spent almost all their savings and surplus money during the last two years of COVID-19 crisis. It is the direct effect of the announcement of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) of India made on March 25.
Nevertheless, actual drug market condition in terms of price had already been hitting common people hard, since the prices of drugs already had gone up 15 to 130 per cent for essential drugs. Paracetamol is just one example the price of which went up by 130 per cent. Prices of many other drugs had went even by about 300 per cent. Even in the beginning of 2022 many drug manufacturers had increased prices of over 460 drugs by an average 5 per cent. The present announcement has only exacerbated the condition. The prices of drugs have already gone up by 15-20 per cent in the last few days. The further price rise (when new packs with new prices would come in the market) would also increase the actual taxes paid even on life saving essential drugs which would ultimately increase the out-of-pocket expenditure of people on medical care.
Gyan Pathak
on e-mail
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