In a significant plea to the Finance Minister, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for substantial increases in healthcare funding in the upcoming national budget. Highlighting India’s current low health expenditure relative to GDP, the IMA emphasizes urgent reforms to enhance healthcare infrastructure and services across the nation.
The IMA’s letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscores the critical need for a tax-based health financing system. Currently, India allocates a mere 1.1 to 1.6 percent of GDP to health, a figure deemed inadequate when compared globally. The association advocates for a minimum allocation of 2.5 percent of GDP exclusively for healthcare, aligning with the low- and middle-income country average of around 5.2 percent.Furthermore, the IMA proposes a tax-funded universal healthcare system to provide a basic healthcare package for all citizens. This includes investments in public sector hospitals and a revised Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to cover outpatient care, drug costs, and enhance patient transfer mechanisms. The association highlights concerns about the current PMJAY structure, likening it to the US healthcare model and warning against its potential to bureaucratize and distort Indian healthcare values.The IMA also recommends working capital loan subsidies to alleviate cash flow issues within PMJAY, aiming to streamline healthcare delivery and support medical practitioners.
In conclusion, the IMA’s comprehensive recommendations aim to bolster India’s healthcare sector as a priority area akin to industries, education, and agriculture. As the country strives towards a developed nation status by 2047, the IMA stresses the crucial role of a robust healthcare system in achieving this goal. With the union budget looming, all eyes are on the Finance Ministry to heed these calls for increased health spending and reforms to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare for all Indians.
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