‘Disappointing’ -- is how the health sector has described Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Union Budget, stating that the medical fraternity had expected the health allocation to be increased to at least 2.5 per cent of the GDP along with separate allocation for disease outbreaks, rare diseases, rural posting of doctors, and free emergency treatment for all.
“We have also been demanding that health be given infrastructure status, which has been completely disregarded yet again,” said Indian Medical Association (IMA) office-bearer K. K. Aggarwal.
IMA national president A. M. Pillai said that a total allocation of Rs. 33,150 crore for health would not make universal healthcare a reality.
The Association said: “The increase in service tax to 14 per cent is not in the interest of the common man, and we hope that the service tax exemption in the health sector is not taken away. Also, there are no provisions made in the budget for free drugs, investigations or emergency care,” said Dr. Pillai.
Maintaining that overall this has been a forward-looking and stable budget, Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, said: “By linking financial inclusion (Jan Dhan Yojna), social security and health insurance agendas, the Finance Minister has provided a holistic roadmap for greater access for all in the future.”
“The health exemptions, particularly, for the elderly, are a major boost ,” she said. She, however, cautioned that a lot more needs to be done in terms of providing physical and educational infrastructure that supports the healthcare sector.
“This has to be done in partnership with and by giving incenti ves to the private sector that has been providing nearly 70 per cent of the additional beds in India,” she said. Poonam Muttreja, executive director, Population Foundation of India (PFI), said this is a growth-oriented budget with focus on boosting economic development through structural changes and reforms.
“However, the social sector did not get as much attention as was expected from the first full-fledged budget of the Modi government. Healthcare was conspicuous by its absence and revolutionary announcements that were required did not materialise,’’ Ms. Muttreja said.
The health sector has welcomed the increase in tax on cigarette stating that it will be helpful in curbing consumption. Binoy Mathew, Voluntary Health Association of India (an NGO working in the area of tobacco control), said: “Why does beedi remain exempted from any tax hike? The number of beedi smokers has more than doubled when compared with that of cigarette smokers. The beedi industry kills users and exploits the manufacturer (beedi rollers). It is truly sad that the government turns a blind eye to that segment.”
Ameera Shah, managing director and CEO, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd., said that India has had a history of underutilising the health budget and the Finance Minister has failed to address this huge gap. Allocation of funds is an issue, but the larger issue is there being no proper system to make sure that the budget is used in the right arena. “The Finance Minister has rightly linked cleanliness and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with preventive healthcare. But, preventive healthcare is a bigger concept and should be taken up in isolation rather than combining it with other elements. The right thing to do would be to link preventive healthcare with the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases,’’ she added.
