SHAUKAT KHANUM MEMORIAL TRUST vs The PROVINCE OF PUNJAB Ss — 2026 PLD 122 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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SHAUKAT KHANUM MEMORIAL TRUST VS The PROVINCE OF PUNJAB Ss.2(xvi), 2(xv) & 40(2)(m)---Punjab Healthcare Commission (Pricing of Healthcare Services) Regulations, 2023, Cl.4 'Ch.-I'---Price control---Services rendered by healthcare establishments---Regulating and controlling prices of healthcare services provided by hospitals and diagnostic centers---Authority and jurisdictional reach of Punjab Healthcare Commission---Determination---Regulation of prices of services not being applicable to labs and diagnostic centers, plea of---Legality---Brief facts of the matter were that multiple writ petitions were filed by hospitals and diagnostic centres challenging the Punjab Healthcare Commission (Pricing of Healthcare Services) Regulations, 2023 ("Regulations")---The petitioners were healthcare establishments operating within Punjab and some were also functioning trans-provincially---The Regulations under question required all healthcare establishments to undertake activity-based costing through certified firms, cap profit margins at 20%, and submit prices to the Punjab Healthcare Commission ("PHC") for approval---PHC framed these Regulations under S. 40(2)(m) of the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act, 2010 ("Act")---The pivotal issue for determination before the High Court was "whether PHC had lawful authority under the Act to regulate and control prices of healthcare services, including those offered by diagnostic centres, and whether the Regulations were validly promulgated in accordance with statutory requirements?"---Held: Services provided for diagnosis clearly fell within the definition of healthcare services---In S. 2(xv) of the Act, 2010, theterm "healthcare establishment" had been defined, which explicitly included diagnostic centres---Regulation of diagnostic labs, including aspects related to their services and pricing, fell squarely within the broad objectives of improving the quality of healthcare services and addressing ancillary matters as envisioned by the Preamble of the Act---Section 40 of the Act directly addressed the power to make regulations for control of prices of healthcare services---Clause (4) of Chapter I of the impugned regulations stated that the Regulations apply, inter alia, to healthcare establishments, including but not limited to public or private hospitals and diagnostic centres---In view of the unequivocal and unambiguous language used by the legislature, Act, 2010, clearly conferred upon PHC the authority to regulate and control the prices of healthcare services, including those provided by diagnostic labs---Regulating prices for essential healthcare services directly served the constitutional mandate by prevent ingarbitrary overcharging and ensuring equitable access---Services offered by diagnostic centers, such as lab tests, were integral to healthcare delivery, and allowing varied pricing for identical services based solely on the facility type would undermine the very purpose of regulation, that was, to protect the consumer from exploitation---Question of treating dissimilarly placed entities similarly did not arise, and any such plea of discrimination was manifestly unfounded---Pricing mechanism laid down therein was not an arbitrary exercise of power by the PHC---Instead, the Regulations required healthcare establishments to perform their own activity-based costing, thereby entrusting them with the primary role of determining their service prices---Intervention of PHC was limited to setting a maximum profit margin of 20%, which served as a fair and rational cap to ensure that prices remained accessible without undermining the concerned healthcare establishments' financial viability---Petitioners (healthcare establishments) could not assert and provide any substantial material to demonstrate that capping the profit margin at 20% was unreasonable or represented an irrational return on investment in the provision of healthcare services---PHC was duly empowered to regulate and control the pricing of healthcare services rendered by healthcare establishments including diagnostic facilities and laboratories throughout the province---The objections raised to the validity of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (Pricing of Healthcare Services) Regulations, 2023, were thus found to be untenable---All writ petitions were dismissed, in circumstances.

SHAUKAT KHANUM MEMORIAL TRUST vs The PROVINCE OF PUNJAB Ss — 2026 PLD 122 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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