JSA and the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment, in a joint statement issued on Monday, demanded that the government introduce ceilings on hospital charges and regulate margins on medicines and medical products
Private hospitals are charging patients significantly more than the cost of providing treatment, with large corporate hospital chains earning substantial surpluses from each bed and imposing high margins on medicines and medical consumables, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) and Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment demand said on Monday, calling for urgent government intervention to regulate private healthcare.
JSA co-convener Abhay Shukla said the average daily bill per patient at five leading corporate hospital chains ranged between ₹60,500 and ₹73,000 in 2024-25, with charges at some hospitals rising to nearly ₹78,000 a day in 2025-26.
According to calculations presented by Shukla, hospitals were earning a surplus of around ₹9,500–11,500 per bed per day after accounting for expenses, taxes, interest, maintenance and other costs. This, he said, translated into annual surpluses of around ₹22 lakh to ₹32 lakh per bed, with the figure for Max Healthcare estimated at nearly ₹56 lakh per bed.
“Today hospital rates, especially in larger corporate hospitals, are heavily inflated. Huge profit margins are being made. These need to be regulated,” Shukla said.
Regulation Margins He compared the charges with those at Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, saying a patient receiving comparable complex and super-specialty care was billed around ₹29,000 per day. The comparison, he said, showed that similar care could potentially be provided at substantially lower rates.
JSA and the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment, in a joint statement issued on Monday, demanded that the government introduce ceilings on hospital charges and regulate margins on medicines and medical products.
The groups said patients face excessive and arbitrary charges for treatment, medicines and consumables, w
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