Mandatory display of charges by private hospitals under Clinical Establishments act: MoS Health

New Delhi: Under Rule 9(i) of Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation), 2012 CE rules, every clinical establishment shall display the rates charged for each type of service provided and the facilities available, for the benefit of the patients at a conspicuous place in the local as well as in English language, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel recently infromed the Lok Sabha.

The information was shared by the Minister while responding to a series of questions raised by a parliament member Shri S Venkatesan who sought to know whether the Government has taken note of the mandatory display of medical charges by private hospitals in the country, if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard and whether any study has been conducted and any reports available in this regard.

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In response, the Minister stated that the Government of India enacted the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 (CE Act) and notified the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012 (CE Rules) to provide for registration and regulation of Government (except those of Armed Forces) as well as private clinical establishments belonging to recognized systems of medicine. As per CE Act, the clinical establishments are required to fulfill the conditions of minimum standards for each type of service provided.

The CE Act has been adopted by 19 States/UTs (12 States, viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh and 7 UTs, viz., Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep & Puducherry).

"Rule 9(i) of CE Rules stipulates that every clinical establishment shall display the rates charged for each type of service provided and facilities available, for the benefit of the patients at a conspicuous place in the local as well as in English language. ‘Health’ being a State subject, the States / UTs which have adopted the CE Act are primarily responsible for enforcing/implementing the provisions of the CE Act, including the provision of display of medical charges in the respective States/UTs," she said.

She further added, the Act has empowered a registering authority at the district level under the chairmanship of the District Collector / District Magistrate to take actions, including imposing penalties in respect of violation of its provisions. The Act also provides for cancellation of registration if the provisions of the Act are not complied with. The clinical establishments in the States/UTs, which have not adopted and implemented the CE Act, are registered and regulated by the respective State Acts.

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