25 July 2024 : The healthcare fraternity had an expectation of an allocation of at least 2.5% of the GDP but that wish was not fulfilled as the actual allocation remained at 2%. In comparison, the global trend is allocation of 9.5% of the GDP for health. Also, sadly, the percentage allocation for health is the lowest in India among the G20 countries. Such low allocation stands in the way of infrastructure development in healthcare, which is imperative if healthcare is to be made accessible and affordable to the common man. According to the WHO, the ratio of hospital beds per 1,000 population should be 3.5, whereas in India we have just 2 beds per 1,000 population. It is extremely important to bridge this gap at the earliest and it can happen only through infrastructure development. Another bane of healthcare in India is the high out-of-pocket expenses that the common man has to incur.
This can be attributed to insufficient government infrastructure in tertiary care facilities, necessitating people to access private infrastructure, which comes at a price, and is often unaffordable in a country with low penetration of health insurance. There are government schemes for free treatment in private set-ups but the rates offered are too low to cover the operational expenses of private hospitals. The Union Budget, however, deserves kudos for exempting three cancer medicines and some healthcare equipment and spares exempt of Customs Duty. The announcement of setting up new medical colleges, facilities which will eventually ease the pain of suffering patients in the region, is also welcome. It is not clear exactly at which locations the medical colleges will come up but we expect more specific announcements shortly.
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