Amendment in the National Essential Medicines List (NLEM) by the government
Recently the government has revised the ‘National List of Essential Medicines: NLEM’ to include 39 new drugs under the list for the proposed price range.
This amendment has been done to bring down the prices of widely used essential medicines.
Presently the year 2015 edition of NLEM is in circulation. It may be mentioned that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is publishing NLEM since the year 1996.
The revised list prepared by an expert committee under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is submitted to the health ministry, after which the ministry notifies the final list.
The list is then forwarded to the Standing Committee on Affordable Medicines and Health Products (SCAMHP). The committee assesses which drugs need to be capped at prices.
SCAMHP is a committee constituted under NITI Aayog in the year 2019 to recommend drugs for price control.
Earlier, the prices of all drugs under NLEM were kept under cap.
Currently, this is done selectively by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) based on the recommendations of SCAMHP.
The drugs and devices listed in the NLEM must be sold at the prices prescribed by the NPPA, while for drugs and devices listed in the non-scheduled list, an annual price escalation of up to 10% is allowed.
About National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)
- It was established in August, 1997 as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DOP), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
- It is an independent regulator set up for pricing of medicines and ensuring availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
Source – The Hindu
