A Cap in the Knee: Govt Slashes Knee Implant Price From ₹1.58 Lakh to ₹54K

During his independence day address to the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the price of knee surgeries will be brought down. The next day, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) slashed the prices of total knee replacement systems and its components by 69%.

Earlier, the standard and widely-used knee implant, Cobalt Chromium, used to cost ₹1.58 lakh, and now it has been brought down to ₹54,720, reducing the average price by 65%. The new ceiling price for Titanium and Oxidised Zirconium implants is 69% lesser than its earlier average MRP.

ANI on Wednesday tweeted the revised prices, which will be as follows:

Government has capped prices of orthopaedic knee implants from today pic.twitter.com/P7zVY71kk1
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2017

In an order issued on Wednesday, the NPPA said that orthopedic-knee implants had ‘unjustified, unreasonable and irrational’ high trade margins, which led to exorbitant prices affecting lakhs of patients, creating a dire need to control this.

About 1.5 crores to 2 crores of patients are estimated to be in need of arthroplasty intervention. Out of this huge number, only about 1 lakh patients can afford it every year, said the order.

It was also mentioned that the ceiling prices specified in the order, though exclusive of GST, are inclusive of trade margin, and no additional charge to the patient.

This move could result in saving ₹1,500 crore annually for an estimated 1.5 lakh patients requiring surgery, reported The Wire.

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