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Inflation could be cooling off in recent months with overall consumer price inflation figures at a benign 4.87 per cent in April 2015 over April 2014. But prices of several goods on the household budget are showing no signs of letting up. Many items that constitute the Consumer Price Index such as milk and products, pulses , snacks and sweets, fuel and light and health are 6-9.5 per cent pricier than a year ago. Lokeshwarri SK finds out how rising prices are affecting people
If the salaried are finding the constantly surging price difficult to handle, the self-employed are not finding the going easy either. Meet Ravi Ranganathan, a physiotherapist, passionate about the work he does. He has diversified into the niche segment of neurological rehabilitation and works out of his clinic in T Nagar, Chennai, and another centre where he houses patients needing extended care. With soaring medical costs, you might think that he is on the right side of the inflation curve. “Not really,” says Ravi. “Managing the inflationary pressure is getting trickier. Conveyance cost is rising constantly; autos are quick to move their fare upward as the price of petrol rises. Rentals are moving higher. But we are unable to pass on this increase in our costs to patients as they are extremely sensitive to price increase.”
Ravi’s problem is compounded by the fact that many of his patients are old and retired people who meet healthcare costs out of their retirement kitty. They are fighting any increase in medical costs.
“For instance, if I prescribed a 10-day treatment programme for a particular sum, earlier, they would attend the entire programme. Now they attend it for just three-four days in order to avoid paying the full amount,” explains Ravi.
So, are there any sacrifices he has made? “I stop myself from investing in expensive imported equipment because I know that my patients will not be able to pay the fee required to use it since they are already struggling with rising prices from other quarters,” explains Ravi.
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