Private hospitals and clinical establishments across Maharashtra are now required to display their fee schedules in both Marathi and English at visible locations within their facilities, under a directive issued by the state government. The measure is intended to give patients a clearer picture of treatment costs before they proceed with care.
The Public Health Department issued the directive on a Friday, requiring establishments to post fee schedules in plain view, revise those listings whenever prices are adjusted, and inform patients of the costs associated with services and treatment packages. The order was issued while the Maharashtra Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2026, remains under review by a Joint Select Committee of the state legislature.
Authorities drew on powers already held under the Maharashtra Nursing Homes Registration Act and Rules, 2021, to release the circular rather than waiting for new legislation to clear the legislature. According to the directive, fee schedules are to be posted in locations that patients and visitors can readily see and access within the facility.
Front-line touchpoints — from intake desks to payment windows — carry a responsibility under the directive to walk patients and their families through available information, with the aim of reducing confusion and disputes around billing. Healthcare providers and AYUSH facilities receiving overseas patients travelling on the relevant visa categories are also required under the directive to post designated package pricing for those visitors in a visible location.
The directive followed a written communication from the Union Health Ministry issued on 12 October 2026, which laid the groundwork for the state-level order. Responsibility for tracking adherence to the rules was placed with civil surgeons, district health officers, and municipal medical officers of health. Regulatory bodies are directed to conduct regular compliance checks on hospitals and to pursue applicable administrative or legal remedies where breaches of established guidelines are found.
A draft bill for Maharashtra addressing clinical establishments, with provisions along similar lines, was placed before the state legislature during its monsoon sitting in July. A Joint Select Committee drawn from both Houses has taken on responsibility for examining it. Under Section 11 of the Bill, every clinical establishment would be required to post the fees it routinely charges for key services, procedures, facilities, and diagnostic investigations in a location clearly visible to anyone on the premises.
Posting of those charges would follow a government-prescribed layout rendered across three languages — Marathi, Hindi, and English. Under the proposed rules, establishments would also be required to display their pricing schedules on their own websites. The proposed bill would bar hospitals from billing patients at rates above those listed on their published price schedules, and anyone receiving medical treatment would be entitled to an itemised bill, with a full breakdown of individual charges available on request.
A Public Health Department official explained that the circular would allow the rate-display requirement to take effect immediately, even as the Bill and any rules drawn from it continue moving through the legislative process. The official added that the Bill had been referred to the Joint Select Committee and was anticipated to receive approval by December, and that drafting regulations under the Act is a process that may require additional time to complete. According to the official, the order published that Friday was intended to facilitate an expedited rollout.
Bhondwe, who previously led the Indian Medical Association, noted that itemising every potential charge at the outset becomes genuinely difficult when unexpected procedures or additional services emerge during a patient's treatment. He also noted that under existing medical rules, practitioners along with the clinics and dispensaries they operate are already obligated to post their registration numbers, professional qualifications, and applicable consultation fees in a visible manner.
A hospital representative noted that the directive would cover all hospitals falling within the jurisdiction of the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, while also observing that listing every charge poses a practical challenge, particularly for costs that arise unexpectedly in the course of treatment. Bhondwe noted that while a spectrum of fees exists and sample figures could be made visible to patients, listing every possible charge in full would present practical obstacles.
