Panel Set Up By PM Says, Prices Of Drugs Have Increased 170% Compared To 70% For Other Commodities

New Delhi: March 14, 2011

The government's bid to provide healthcare to all may not work, if the prices of drugs continue to rise at the present, a high-level expert group on health opined. A study done by a group formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prepare a road map for providing healthcare to all citizens by 2020 has said the prices of drugs and medicines have increased 170% compared to 70% for other commodities since late 1990. The high cost of medical facilities has resulted in 28% of ailments in rural India, whereas 20% of population in urban areas goes untreated. And, of those who get hospitalised, 47% in rural India and 31% in urban India have to sell their assets to pay for medical expenses.

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