The decision to regulate trade margins on non-scheduled cancer medicines is a welcome step. It responds to a genuine concern. In a welfare state, the government has a responsibility to ensure that healthcare is both accessible and affordable, while creating an environment in which quality care can be delivered sustainably. When the difference between the price at which a product enters the supply chain and what a patient ultimately pays becomes difficult to justify, the government cannot remain a passive observer.

But a good first step should not be mistaken for a complete solution. The present debate raises three questions. Is the exercise comprehensive enough? Is it based on adequate evidence? And can it be implemented effectively across a healthcare market as large and varied as India’s?

The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that trade margins on specified cancer drugs will be capped at 30 per cent.…