evidence: On February 13, the Union government capped prices of stents — a tiny metal tube inserted into the narrowed coronary arteries — by nearly 85%, drastically reducing the cost of angioplasty. The price cap is just one example of how a life-saving medical device can be made affordable when the government intervenes to regulate prices. Prior to the price capping, a stent contributed heavily to the cost of an angioplasty. A patient had to shell out anywhere between Rs50,000 and Rs1.5 lakh for a stent, depending on its brand and range. But, now, no stent, however advanced, can cost more than Rs30,000. The fall in stent price has brought relief to patients with heart ailments, but other medical devices that are equally life-saving or essential to improving health are still unaffordable because prices are not regulated by the government.