As a medical practitioner, my pre-budget expectations will always be the same—a respectable allocation to the health sector. Alas, the expectations remain unmet and unfulfilled every year.
Sadly, the central Budget health allocation has always been in fractions, except last year when it crossed one. With just 1.3 percent of GDP in 2016 Budget, India’s health sector continues to be among the countries with the lowest relative public expenditure on healthcare, worse than even neighboring nations such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. At the same time, our staggering defense Budget itself will surpass the total outlay of some of the Asian countries.
In the run-up to the Budget presentation, let’s discuss what the health sector would like to see on this year’s financial blueprint.
1. Make family health insurance mandatory for all economically backward sections without taking into consideration the BPL status in the ration card. I have personally witnessed deserving patients, who don’t even own a house, being denied benefits for the want of a valid ration card. The cash coverage for such an insurance should be at a reasonable level, so that common critical ailments and accidents could be treated even in a nearby private hospital, if needed. The insurance players involved in this government sponsored program should be meticulously monitored and audited to curb any malpractice or grievances.
2. Private health sector in India, largely in the specialist and super specialist segment, is recognized as one of the best in the world. Since they thrive on a goodwill policy of the government, a legislation has to be brought in where a certain percentage of beds in these hospitals be allotted to eligible patients, fulfilling economic criteria. Perhaps we can take a leaf out of Andhra Pradesh's book on the successful implementation of Aarogyasree health insurance, where all private hospitals, including big corporate groups, were participating. With efficient and proactive bureaucrats at the helm, this is not at all a Herculean task.
3. Effective measures should in place to fill up the vacancies in healthcare sector, including that of doctors and paramedics. In rural areas, this may well require inordinate incentivizing, including monetary allowances. This step itself would be sufficient to address issues such as the high MMR and IMR in the rural areas. That would also mean effective implementation of the various existing state-run health welfare projects.
I sincerely hope this wish-list won’t remain a pipe dream.
(Dr Louie Fischer graduated from the University of Kerala and subsequently did his post-graduation in internal medicine from Govt Medical College Patiala. He completed DM (cardiology) residency from the prestigious King George Medical University, Lucknow in 2008 and then worked as a consultant interventional cardiologist in Department of Cardiology, Apollo Hospitals, Secunderabad. Since 2011, he is associated with the MOSC medical college hospital as the chief interventional cardiologist and professor of cardiology. )
