Max oncology inpatient revenue falls after chemo drug discontinuation for CGHS patients

Mumbai: Max Healthcare’s oncology segment accounted for 21 per cent of its inpatient revenue in Q2 FY27, down from 26 per cent last year, after the hospital chain stopped supplying select high-value chemotherapy drugs to patients covered under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Chairman and Managing Director Abhay Soi said.

Speaking at the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Soi attributed the drop to revisions in CGHS rates.“Due to the discontinuation of select high-value chemotherapy drugs for institutional patients as a result of CGHS rate revisions last year, the share of oncology for inpatient revenue dropped to 21 per cent from 26 per cent in Q2 FY26,” he said. “Excluding oncology, gross revenue grew by 25per cent, and ARPP grew by 11% year on year.”As per reports, Max had earlier said that the CGHS pricing guidelines made it unviable to supply these drugs.

The pricing issue extends beyond Max.

At the time, AHPI had written to the health ministry flagging a growing crisis in the treatment of advanced cancer patients of those covered under the Central Government Health Scheme, as the scheme's reimbursement policy threatens to disrupt access to life-saving immunotherapy drugs.

Hospitals said the reimbursement cap that limits hospital payments to 70% of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for high-cost oncology medicines is a policy issue that is pushing them to the financial breaking point and more critically, putting patients at serious risk.