Essential medicines price capping resulted in saving of Rs 12500 crore, says Kovind

Addressing the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, on the first day of the Budget session here, Kovind said capping of prices of more than 1,000 essential medicines has resulted in a saving of Rs 12,500 crore for the patients.

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind recently said that the Government's initiative of capping of prices of over 1000 essential medicines has resulted in a saving of Rs12,500 crore for the patients.

This came during his speech to the joint session of the Parliament on Friday. He further listed the efforts made by the government in the health sector, adding that the medical expenses of the poor and the middle class have been reduced considerably.

Addressing the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, on the first day of the Budget session here, Kovind said capping of prices of more than 1,000 essential medicines has resulted in a saving of Rs 12,500 crore for the patients.

"Reduced cost of stents and knee-implants has provided a huge relief to lakhs of patients. Every day 5 to 7 lakh patients are now purchasing medicines for serious ailments at affordable prices from more than 6,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras," he said.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the apex drug price regulator, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had apprised about the positive impact of capping ceiling prices of Orthopaedic Knee Implants, as the sale of the product had increased by 30% over the past one year between July 2018 and July 2019.

In 2018, the Government had extended the cap on prices for knee implants, ranging from Rs 54,000 to Rs 1.14 lakh for a year. Providing relief to patients going for knee implants, NPPA had extended the ceiling prices till 15th August 2019.

Also Read: Price Cap Of Orthopaedic Knee Implants Led To Boosted Sales, Says NPPA