Health Ministry initiates medical fee capping

New Delhi: In an important development, the Ministry of Health and family Welfare, has decided to undertake a policy initiative of capping fees charged by all 439 private and government medical colleges across India. The attempt to cap fee is part of the amendment to the Indian Medical Council Act, which the government plans to get cleared in the next session of Parliament.

In India, there is a cap of $1,20,000 for fees charged by medical colleges from NRI students. The current average medical fee charged by medical institutions is Rs. 50 lacs for MBBS courses.

According to the latest information,“The cap on the fees for a particular year would be decided on an annual basis by the Medical Council of India (MCI) or any new body which will replace it,” sources said.

Though state and central medical colleges charge less fees, private colleges are charging as much as they want. Apart from this, the capitation fees charged by private medical colleges for management quota students is a major issue.

The decision to amend the Indian Medical Council Act bill has been taken after a Parliamentary Standing Committee panned the system of giving clearances to medical colleges.The committee has criticised the MCI saying that its total focus has been on the licensing of medical colleges loosing site of ethics completely. It has therefore, proposed that there should be two mechanisms for regulating ethical code for doctors and medical education.

Looking at all the diverse fee structures under the various quotas of private and state medical colleges, the Prime Minister’s office formed a high level committee headed by the Niti Ayog Chairperson Arvind Panagriya, which submitted a draft recommendation to the PMO.

The new draft MCI Amendment Bill is the outcome of all recommendations made by the committee. A new regulatory structure has been suggested by the Niti Ayog report. This would constitute of a Medical Advisory Council (MAC) with representation from states and union territories. The council will voice the national agenda for

medical education.

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The National Medical Commission, the policy-making body for medical education, and four autonomous boards will be charged with undergraduate medical education, post-graduate medical education, medical assessment, rating and registration, and ethics.