Healthcare Cost Expected To Rise, GST Council Imposes 12% Tax On Biomedical Waste

Pune, 11th July 2022: The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council’s decision to impose a 12 percent tax on biomedical waste (BMW) treatment facilities and a 5 percent GST on hospital room rent (excluding ICU) healthcare facilities is expected to raise the cost of healthcare services.

According to healthcare institutions, patients will ultimately be responsible for paying the increased expense. Under the leadership of Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the GST council met in Chandigarh last week and presented its recommendations.

The GST council’s suggestions led to the decision to levy a 12% tax on facilities that process biomedical waste. Additionally, the council has recommended charging a 5% GST on room rent (above Rs 5,000 per day), excepting ICU beds. The recommendations have upset both the public and the healthcare industry.

According to Bomi Bhote, Head of the Association of Hospitals in Pune and the CEO of Ruby Hall Clinic, increasing the GST will inevitably raise the cost of healthcare. How long can hospitals that are losing money continue to operate? Healthcare should not be subject to GST because it is a service sector. Just recently has the situation begun to improve following the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is, however, altering tax rates and raising the price of healthcare. As a result, patients’ healthcare services will now cost more money.

Dr. Sanjay Patil, the Hospital Board of India’s chairman, said that it is challenging to tax just one part of the bundle, and patients may become confused as a result. The hospitals in the city had already been receiving letters from BMW service providers requesting that they be prepared to pay new, higher fees for garbage.