Budget 2014 Wishlist: Dr B Bhaskar Rao, MD, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS)

Taking quality healthcare to every corner of India must be the objective of the new government! An integrated healthcare system that helps Government work closely with public and private sector healthcare providers will help break all barriers and make our country, a healthy India. Quality healthcare has become a luxury and I hope government will bring in measures to ensure it doesn’t remain a privilege for the few from affluent communities.

Am confident the new Prime Minister will increase planned outlay in the healthcare sector and help remove the prevalent inequalities in distribution of resources and services across urban and rural sections. There is an urgent need to encourage quality healthcare providers to move into tier-II and tier-III markets; and government must consider necessitated incentives for private sector to join hands with the public sector to achieve the goal.

Government must consider granting of infrastructure status to hospitals and grant long term tax holidays. Such a step will encourage private sector to move into non-urban segments, where achieving break-even might take longer than expected. Government must also design a comprehensive policy to encourage more private players work closely with the state and develop hospital units under public-private partnership model.

It is being said that government is contemplating the idea of Bharatiya Swastya Bhima Yojana for the economically weaker sections; while I laud this step, I would like to suggest to the new government to make Insurance mandatory for every family/insurance based on affordability. This will reduce burden on the State and help people get quality healthcare hassle-free.

While Govt. is spend on healthcare has increased manifold over the years, its impact on the society at large has not been in the same ratio. Because majority of government spend is done in public sector, it is important for the health ministry to keep a tab on the services being rendered at various district-level government hospitals and primary health centres. Linking remuneration of doctors and other medical staff to the services rendered locally will help improve healthcare standards across India.

Coming to the most important medical education, quality education is a concern. Even private institutions find it difficult to implement highest standards of education due to the financial burden. I would like to request the Government of India to consider the proposal to increase number of seats under management quota for each private institute. The additional funds will help improve education standards and avert a financial catastrophe.