The State government, which has opposed NITI Aayog’s proposal on privatising portions of well-functioning district hospitals, believes that it is too heavily loaded in favour of the private sector, while all risk is to be borne by the government.
Speaking to The Hindu , Health and Family Welfare Minister K.R. Ramesh Kumar, who steered the KPME Bill for regulations in private hospitals, said, “A cursory glance of the aayog’s model clearly indicates the one-sidedness of the agreement, with the government bearing all the risk and the private partner running away with all the profit.”
Under the proposed model, the private partner is eligible to invest in upgrading/building and equipping the facility and is responsible for operational management and service delivery. The government has to provide physical space, infrastructure, support facilities, and hospital amenities to the private operators.
Opposing the PPP model, Mr. Kumar said, “The design of the Aayog’s proposal is fraught with adverse implications for the existence of public hospitals that are a refuge for the poor. NITI Aayog has an obligation and a duty to consult, listen, collect evidence, analyse and reflect, not prescribe based on the advice of the World Bank and a few interested corporate houses.”
The model is contrary to the Universal Health Care (UHC) which is scheduled to be inaugurated shortly by the State government. The UHC is aimed at catering to primary, secondary, and tertiary care services out of the State funds by amalgamating all the schemes of the Health Department. Mr. Kumar said, “Hence, it is not advisable to enter into any agreement with McKinsey & Company, the consultant proposed by the NITI Aayog.”
The Minister’s argument is that the government should focus on preventive healthcare to reduce the load, with better pay and emoluments to existing specialists for better service delivery. Tie-ups with hospitals such as Kidwai Cancer Institute, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, and Victoria hospitals would boost the performance of government specialists, he argued.
