Department of Health Licenses, which provide the permits needed to open private health clinics and other medical facilities in the country, has made clear that the prices charged by these institutions should comply with the prices approved by the department. The approved prices should not be increased until the stipulated period has expired and new prices have been approved, said an informed source at the department.
The department stressed that prices for medical services, which could vary from one institute to another, should be exactly as per the price list submitted to the department at the time of issuing a license. Noncompliance with these prices is a punishable offense, warned the department.
Cautioning that its inspectors would visit the licensed facility to ascertain that prices charged were in accordance with the price list approved, the department said that anyone found to be violating the approved prices could face legal action.
Private health facilities are also obliged to display their price list in a prominent place within their facility so that visitors could see the approved prices and compare it with what they were charged. Any discrepancy between the two prices should be reported in the form of a complaint to the Licensing Department.