Pariksha SaathiHealth Ministry Asks States and UTs to Make Hospitals and Clinics Display Their Service Rates Prominently
Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has written to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories asking them to make sure clinical establishments put up the rates they charge for services and facilities where patients can easily see them, the Health Ministry said on 12 October 2026. The letter cites the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 and the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012. Under these rules, in States and UTs where the Act applies, every clinical establishment must display the charges for each type of service at a conspicuous place, both in the local language and in English. Where the Act has not been adopted, hospitals are governed by state or UT laws, many of which have similar provisions. The ministry says visible prices will help families estimate treatment costs, reduce billing disputes and build trust. Since health is a State subject, enforcement rests with the States and UTs, which have been asked to review compliance and issue advisories. They were also asked to encourage hospitals to display package rates for foreign patients coming to India on Medical or Ayush visas.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Public health, hospitals and dispensaries fall in the State List of the Constitution's Seventh Schedule, so Parliament cannot ordinarily legislate on them for the whole country. The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 was therefore passed under Article 252(1), after the legislatures of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim passed resolutions asking Parliament to do so. It applied first to those four states and the Union Territories; any other state can bring it into force by adopting it through a resolution of its own legislature.
Reference: Clinical Establishments Act portal, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Check yourself: does the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010 automatically apply in every state of India?
No. Because it was made under Article 252, it applies only in states whose legislatures have adopted it (plus the Union Territories covered by it); other states regulate clinics under their own laws, which is why this letter refers to both.
Revision task: note the two separate requests in this letter (rate display under the Act or state law, and package rates for Medical/Ayush visa patients) and link the first to the Article 252 mechanism.
Test yourself
Under which law must hospitals and clinics display the charges for each type of service at a conspicuous place, in the local language and in English?
Show the answer
Answer: Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010
The Health Secretary's letter to all Chief Secretaries cites the 2010 Act and the Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012; health being a State subject, enforcement rests with the States and UTs.
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