MP calls for regulated fees at private hospitals

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

MP Dr Maryam Al Dhaen has urged authorities to regulate pricing for health services at private hospitals and clinics, saying clearer rules are needed to protect patients and curb wide gaps in charges.

Dr Al Dhaen said the lack of a clear pricing framework can leave patients facing unexplained differences in cost, add to their financial strain and weaken confidence in the health system.

She said the aim should be a balance between providers’ ability to keep services running and improve, and patients’ right to safe, good-quality care at fair and transparent prices. She said pricing can go wrong in two directions.

Charges pushed too low, she argued, can raise risks around standards and patient safety, as well as the long-term viability of health facilities.

Prices pushed too high, she said, can lead to patients being exploited and heavier bills. Dr Al Dhaen said her proposal focused on putting controls in place for private-sector fees, including a “logical” minimum level for certain services, to support quality and patient safety without allowing exaggerated pricing, either upwards or downwards.

Prices

“It is illogical and professionally unacceptable for complex medical procedures or surgeries to be offered at extremely low prices,” she said.

Such pricing, she added, prompts questions about staff competence, the quality of materials used, sterilisation practices and tools, and the time allowed for diagnosis and follow-up.

She said a delicate operation priced at a level that does not even cover the cost of instruments should not be treated as a competitive advantage, but as a problem that needs to be addressed.

Competition At the other end of the scale, she said some institutions charge inflated fees, creating uneven competition, confusing citizens and residents and affecting trust in the system.

She cited laparoscopic procedures as one example, saying some centres offer them at prices that would not cover the cost of equipment, while other centres charge double.

“How do we ensure the patient receives the same level of safety?” she asked.

Concerns

She also raised concerns about laboratory tests offered at very low “promotional” prices, saying they can raise questions about the quality of materials used and the accuracy of results.

“The aim is to protect the patient first,” she said, adding that regulation would help bring order and openness to the market, support safer services and make patients’ rights clearer.