Punjab government will soon take up with the Central Government the matter regarding fleecing of the common man by fixing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of medicines at exorbitant prices. The state Vidhan Sabha on Thursday unanimously passed a non-official resolution urging the state government to take up the matter with the Centre.
The members, led by the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh, deliberated over the non-official resolution moved by Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Chamkaur Sahib Dr Charanjit Singh.
Dr Balbir Singh, taking on the resolution, said that the issue was already in his mind. “Even, I had recently brought this matter into the notice of the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya during his Patiala visit a few days back. The cancer drugs have already been regulated by the government, but non-scheduled drugs and e-pharmacy are yet to be regulated, he added.
He said that till these drugs get regulated, the easiest way to provide affordable medicines to common people is by opening maximum ‘Jan Aushadhi Kendras’ in the state. “There are 25 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in the state and 16 more have been approved, which will be opened soon,” said the Minister while urging all the MLAs to open these Kendras in their constituencies, which will not only provide affordable medicines to the common people, but will also help in generating employment.
“Health is a fundamental right of every person and it is the duty of the state and the central government to provide world-class quality healthcare managed and funded by the government,” said Dr Balbir Singh, adding that the State Government is committed to provide the holistic healthcare facilities in the state.
He also pledged in the Assembly to present his ‘Annual Report’ on what he has done — whether its recruitment of doctors and staff or new medical projects — during every Budget Session. He informed the Assembly that 504 Aam Aadmi Clinics (AACs) were made functional in the state, of which, 353 clinics, which is over 70 percent, are established in villages.
Terming the drug menace as the most crucial issue of the state, the Health Minister called upon all the House members to show concern on this and join hands with the Government to root out this menace, which is not only the reason for many fatal diseases including Cancer, HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis, impotency, etc, but also a reason for crimes happening in the state.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister said that the Punjab Government has been working on bringing reforms in healthcare, wherein, instead of prescribing medicines, patients would be asked to join Yogshalas and exercise in Government Hospitals to treat them naturally.
AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha, speaking over the resolution, said that Rs 80 medicine is available in the market for Rs 480 and Rs 50 medicine for Rs 250. “Total 16 percent margin is allowed in the scheduled drugs and 40 percent in anti-cancer drugs. But apart from these, two-three times more over the MRP is being charged in other medicines,” he pointed while asking the Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India to pay attention on this problem.
