Centre Introduces New Rules to Curb High Ventilator Bills in Private Hospitals 🇮🇳

The Indian government has unveiled new healthcare guidelines aimed at regulating the use and billing of high-cost ventilator support in private hospitals. The rules require explicit informed consent from patients’ families before initiating mechanical ventilation, and hospitals must clearly disclose ventilator and ICU costs at the time of consent. Private hospitals will now follow usage-based billing, meaning they can charge only when the ventilator is actively used, and must publicly display prices for ventilator services and consumables. Hospitals must justify prolonged ventilator use over 14 days through internal expert reviews and set up grievance systems for billing disputes. The reforms are intended to prevent financial exploitation of patients, improve accountability, and rebuild trust in private healthcare, though some medical bodies feel the rules could create extra bureaucracy.