NPPA revises coronary stent prices for 2026: What Patients Need to Know

The NPPA has revised ceiling prices for coronary stents to make life-saving devices more affordable. Hospitals must follow strict pricing rules, display rates, and provide itemised bills, while patients can report overcharging through official channels and mobile apps.

Hyderabad: To ensure the cost of life-saving medical devices remains within the reach of poor patients, the regulatory authorities have officially revised and fixed the ceiling prices of coronary stents in the country.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), the price regulatory authority for drugs in the country, has issued orders, fixing the cost of coronary stents. The NPPA has set specific price caps for different categories of stents. These prices are the maximum that a hospital or retailer can charge, exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

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For a Bare Metal Stent (BMS), the new ceiling price has been fixed at Rs 10,762.15, while for the more commonly used Drug Eluting Stents (DES), the price is now capped at Rs 39,186.03. The higher category price of DES also covers advanced medical variants, including Metallic DES, Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds (BVS), and other biodegradable stents, the price notification released by NPPA said.

The notification includes strict directives to ensure transparency at the hospital level. Senior doctors and public health communicators in Hyderabad have urged patients and their family members to make themselves aware of the new price cap on stents.

The NPPA has also directed retailers and medical device dealers, including hospital pharmacies, to prominently display the new price list on their premises so that it is easily accessible to the public. The private hospitals will be allowed to add GST only if they have actually paid it to the government, and it cannot be used as an arbitrary tool to inflate the base ceiling price. To prevent hidden costs, hospitals are also required to provide itemised billing that specifically mentions the cost of the stent, the brand name, and the manufacturer’s details.

The NPPA has also made it clear that any manufacturer or hospital failing to comply with these revised rates will be liable to deposit the overcharged amount along with interest. Such actions are enforceable under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, read with the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

The general public in Hyderabad can also check the cost of stents and other drugs through the ‘Pharma Sahi Dam’ mobile app. If a hospital refuses to provide an itemised bill or charges above the prescribed limits for a stent, patients can lodge a formal complaint with the State Drugs Control Administration.