NEW DELHI: A patient’s hospital room in a private hospital could soon cost no more than a room in a nearby three-star hotel if a key recommendation of the parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare is accepted.

In an effort to rein in soaring medical bills, the panel has proposed linking room rents in private hospitals in major metropolitan cities to the average tariff charged by three-star hotels nearby.The recommendation is part of the committee’s report on the affordability and accessibility of healthcare facilities in public and private sector, which says the absence of a transparent mechanism for fixing room charges has led to wide variations in bills.

It recommended benchmarking room rents to nearby three-star hotels, while allowing hospitals to levy separate charges for resident doctors, nursing care, consumables, meals and laundry.

Citing the 80th National Sample Survey (Jan-Dec 2025), the panel said average cost of hospitalisation was Rs 6,631 in govt hospitals compared with Rs 50,508 in private hospitals. For childbirth alone, the average out-of-pocket expenditure was Rs 37,630 in private hospitals against Rs 2,299 in govt facilities.

Hospital administrators, however, questioned the comparison. “Hotel room tariffs should not be the yardstick for hospital room rents because medical infra, staffing and support services are different,” said Dr Vinoy Kumar Upadhyay, CMD of Hope Hospital in Greater Noida.

Noting the sharp difference in treatment costs, the panel said reducing out-of-pocket expenditure should be a key priority. It called for a legal mechanism to standardise and cap charges for essential treatments and routine procedures in private hospitals, mandatory disclosure of treatment costs before admission, and a fast-track grievance redressal mechanism for complaints related to billing.Beyond room rents, the panel, headed by SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav, proposed standardised package rates for common medical and surgical procedures. It also recommended advance cost estimates for complex treatments, financial navigators to guide patients on treatment costs and insurance, and ‘Continuum of Care’ packages covering screening, treatment and palliative care under a single capped payment. It urged the Centre to raise public health spending to 2.5% of GDP, strengthen govt hospitals, expand affordable medicines, and ensure stricter implementation of the Clinical Establishments Act.