Lok Sabha Question No. 1574 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-10
Subject: Kidney Patients
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Prince Raj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1574 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 th  FEBRUARY, 2023

## KIDNEY PATIENTS

## 1574.   SHRI PRINCE RAJ:

Will the MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the steps being taken or proposed to be taken to support kidney patients belonging to Middle Class/ Lower Middle Class who are on dialysis; (b) whether the Government is considering providing dialysis facilities at Primary Health Center or atleast Sub-Divisional Hospital Level in Districts; (c) the number of Dialysis Centre currently operating in Samastipur and Darbhanga district of Bihar; (d)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  affordable  pricing  of  medicines  for  kidney-transplant patients; and (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) and (b); Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri  National  Dialysis  Program  (PMNDP)  in  2016-17  ensuring  availability  of  Haemodialysis Services at District Hospitals in the country free of cost to all BPL patients. Under PMNDP, Peritoneal dialysis was introduced in 2019. PMNDP is implemented in total 36 States/UTs in 641 Districts at 1350 centres by deploying 8871 hemo-dialysis machines as on 31 December 2022. A total 17.27 lakh patient  availed  dialysis  services  and  188.57  Lakh  haemodialysis  sessions  were  held  as  on  31st December 2022. Government of India is making efforts for covering 100% districts across the states with  a  dialysis  centre  under  PMNDP,  for  making  dialysis  services  accessible  and  closer  to  the community.  MoHFW supports States/UTs in implementation of  both  hemodialysis  and  Peritoneal Dialysis services under PMNDP through the annual Programme Implementation Plans (PIP).

(c) There is one dialysis centre in both Samastipur & Dharbhanga District in Bihar, supported under NHM.

(d) and (e); Drugs required for the dialysis patients are available free of cost to all beneficiaries at the District  Hospitals  under  the  National  Free  Drug  Services  Initiative  supported  by  the  MoHFW, Government of India. MoHFW notifies the National List of Essential Medicines (NELM) which is incorporated as the Schedule-1 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO 2013). Accordingly, Department of Pharmaceuticals has on 11.11.2022 , notified Revised Schedule-1 of DPCO 2013 on the basis of NELM 2022 which replaced NELM 2015. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) under the Department of Pharmaceuticals fixes the celling price of the schedules medicines specified in the first schedule of DPCO 2013. All manufacturers of schedules medicines have to sell their products within the celling price (plus applicable Good and Services Tax) fixed by NPPA. The formulation  under  schedules-1  are  mentioned  according  to  their  therapeutic  category.  There  is  no separate therapeutic category for medicines for kidney transplant.

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