(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne will make arrangements next week to bring down the prices of eye lenses for cataract surgeries to Rs. 10,000. Then, Rs. 20,000 will be reduced for lenses, Health Ministry sources said.
According to the sources, the minister had stated that he would bring down the prices soon to offer a relief for thousands of poor patients who undergo cataract surgeries. This will be the first step of bringing down the high prices of surgical items. Hospital authorities had been instructed and provided funds to buy eye lenses from the local market.
A large number of complaints had been sent to the ministry by patients about extremely high prices of eye lenses. Some lenses are imported from India for Rs. 6,000 and sold to patients for around Rs. 30,000, the sources said.
One eye lens can be sold for a patient for about Rs. 10,000. The minister had instructed National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA) officials to formulate a price list for surgical items, the sources added.