A division bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta of the Supreme Court, on Monday, raised a pertinent query to the Central government regarding the feasibility of establishing standardized rates in private hospitals for patient care, a domain traditionally influenced by market dynamics.

The Bench articulated this query while serving notice to the government in response to a petition contesting the regulatory framework concerning uniform rates for ophthalmological procedures nationwide.

The bench asked “How can there be uniform rates even in private hospitals? It all depends on market forces. What if there was uniform fees for lawyers appearing here?”

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, who represented one of the involved parties, expressed concerns about the regulations being “completely out of hand’.

R Venkataramani, the Attorney General for India, represented the Central government.

The Indian Medical Association was represented by Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, while a group of private hospitals was represented by Senior Advocate Harish Salve.

Notably, a Bench overseeing the same case earlier this month highlighted the issue of private hospitals, established on land acquired at subsidized rates, failing to uphold their commitment to allocate a portion of their beds for underprivileged individuals.

Today, the issue was associated with a pending case that seeks directives to the Union government for the notification of hospital treatment rates in accordance with the regulations outlined in the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010.