Standardize hospital treatment charges or CGHS rates will be enforced: SC tells center

The Supreme Court of India is worried about the big differences in medical treatment costs between government and private hospitals. They criticized the government for not enforcing rules made 14 years ago about clinical establishments. These rules say hospitals must clearly show how much they charge for different services in the local language and English.

Even though the Court tried to talk to state governments about this issue, they got no response. So, the Court decided that the central government needs to make sure healthcare is affordable for everyone, which is a basic right for citizens.

The Union health secretary has been told to organize a meeting within a month to set standard rates for medical treatments. If they don’t do this, the Court might make hospitals follow the rates set by the CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme).

Tapan Singhel, Chairman of the GI-Council, thinks it’s good that the Supreme Court is pushing the government to decide on standard hospital rates. He hopes this will make quality healthcare more accessible for everyone.

**Background:**

During a hearing for a public interest case by the Veterans Forum for Transparency in Public Life, the Supreme Court criticized the government for not making sure hospitals follow the Clinical Establishment Rules. These rules were made to stop the big differences in medical costs. The Court told the Union health secretary to fix this problem quickly and have a meeting with state health secretaries to set standard rates for medical treatments.

The Court warned that if the government doesn’t solve this problem, they might have to make hospitals follow the rates set by the CGHS.