India is developing plans to regulate consultation fees and common medical procedure charges at private hospitals through amendments to the Clinical Establishments Act 2010. According to government officials, the move aims to bring greater transparency and reduce healthcare costs for citizens. The health ministry is currently mapping the cost of these services across different tiers of cities, with the primary focus on outpatient department (OPD) fees and plans to standardize rates for common inpatient procedures such as cataract and caesarian section surgeries. Recent developments highlight the urgency of these reforms as patients face hospital fees or facility fees on bills without having stepped foot in a hospital, a practice that has been ongoing for years.
Currently, in tier-I cities, private doctors' consultation fees range from ₹1,000-3,000 and higher, depending on the practitioner's qualifications and hospital facilities. As reported by the statistics & programme implementation ministry, the average spending per hospitalization was ₹34,064 during 2025, with private hospital costs reaching ₹50,508. India's out-of-pocket expenditure for healthcare shows households bear nearly 47% of total medical costs, highlighting the need for regulatory intervention. Recent cases demonstrate how simple in-office procedures are billed as surgical room fees for each eye, with insurance companies denying coverage for what they consider out-of-contract compliance.
The proposed changes face significant opposition from the medical fraternity. Dr. Dilip Bhanushali, president of the Indian Medical Association representing over 4.2 lakh private medical practitioners, stated the IMA stands firmly against fee capping. He questioned why doctors should be treated differently from other professions and argued that many corporate hospitals are now owned by foreign equity, running as businesses rather than charities. Some private hospitals, including Park Medi World Ltd and Aakash Super-speciality Healthcare, called for fee standardization to be implemented in a calibrated manner while maintaining patient-centric and equitable frameworks.
The Clinical Establishment Act of 2010 currently functions as an advisory framework since it lacks provisions for direct government enforcement against private hospitals. Government officials noted that the Act already contains provisions for 'range of rates' to be fixed by the central government in consultation with states. The Centre will hold consultations with state governments since health is a state subject, with the government planning to utilize these existing provisions to streamline fee structures and ensure greater transparency for patients. Recent cases show how insurance companies deny coverage for contractually denied charges, with patients having to threaten small claims court before collection stops.
The proposed standardization affects India's 43,486 private healthcare facilities and 1.38 million doctors, according to data from the Association of Healthcare Providers in India and the National Medical Commission. The government's recent stringent private healthcare norms include spatial requirements for beds and consultation rooms, with minimum standards outlined for different facility types. Industry experts emphasize the need for balanced approaches that recognize clinical expertise, infrastructure investments, and patient outcomes while ensuring transparency and quality healthcare accessibility. Recent developments show how markups on healthcare are waved through by the government, with all charges coming from patient wallets through deductibles or excluded items that insurance is unlikely to reimburse.
