Government Allows Price Caps On Knee Implants For One More Year
Knee implants to continue being priced 69 percent lower than market rates for one more year.
The government extended the cap on prices for knee implants, ranging from Rs 54,000 to Rs 1.14 lakh, for one more year.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has extended the ceiling prices till August 2019, providing relief to patients going for knee implants. The government had capped prices of knee implants at a significantly lower rate than the market rates in August last year.
NPPA had capped the price of widely used Cromium Cobalt knee implants at Rs 54,720 as part of the initiative. Prior to that it used to cost between Rs 1.58 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh. This particular type of knee implant has around 80 percent market share.
The new price of the special metal titanium and oxidised zirconium was fixed at Rs 76,600 plus goods and services tax, 69 percent lower than an average rate of Rs 2.49 lakh earlier. High flexibility implant was fixed at Rs 56,490 plus GST, 69 percent lower than average MRP of over Rs 1.8 lakh earlier.
Special metal and high flexibility knee implants account for another 17 percent of the market.