Calls for a boost in healthcare spending, reforming iGST and the issue of embedded taxes, creating a fund to build common infrastructure for products and services serving exports and domestic markets
NATHEALTH-Healthcare Federation of India today has submitted a visionary blueprint aimed at revolutionising India’s healthcare landscape. Through a concrete set of recommendations submitted for the Union Budget 2024-25, NATHEALTH has urged the government to embark on transformative measures that prioritise bolstering healthcare infrastructure and making strategic investments to overcome supply side constraints.
NATHEALTH recommendations emphasise strengthening healthcare infrastructure, rationalisation of GST, fostering innovative healthcare models tailored to meet the diverse needs of India’s populace, facilitating access to capital to strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem, and leveraging technology to establish world-class healthcare ecosystems. The recommendations go beyond the conventional norms by advocating for inclusive strategies that confront regional healthcare disparities. This includes targeted initiatives to address the issue of skilled health workforce and how to make India a preferred choice among global and domestic patients.
Top recommendations
Increasing budget allocation to health: India’s public healthcare spending remains low, at only around 1.6-1.8 per cent of GDP. These allocations are insufficient to tackle the magnitude of healthcare challenges. NATHEALTH recommends increasing budget allocation to 2.5 per cent of GDP to augment the social insurance schemes, boosting healthcare reforms and infrastructure and fast-tracking digital health services across India.
Rationalisation of GST: Although increased budget allocation has been a longstanding request from the sector, there remains another persistent issue concerning the healthcare credit chain through GST. Indirect taxation and lack of input credit for providers poses a significant challenge for the healthcare industry. NATHEALTH strongly recommends outlining a reform agenda in the Finance Bill aimed at restructuring the healthcare GST framework.
Boosting the value chain: NATHEALTH emphasises the importance of strengthening the entire value chain to drive economic progress and create new opportunities. The focus should remain on augmenting local capabilities to extend care to the most remote areas, while concurrently emphasising the localisation of the value chain. Additionally, harmonising global best practices necessitates integrated budget allocations for effective execution as well safeguards for quality and patient safety.
Boosting medical value travel: Medical value-added services and Tavel is expected to be USD 10 bn. To further aid the growth of this segment the issue of MAT credit needs immediate government attention. It is crucial for individuals to benefit from exports. This move will give them an opportunity to offset it. It will create a more significant value proposition to focus on MVTs and boost capacity.
Separate budget allocation for skilling and capacity building of healthcare workers to serve the primary care and overall healthcare needs: While the government announced the establishment of 157 new nursing colleges in the previous budget, strengthening health workforce situation in India is one such area that needs continuous government and policy focus. India’s doctor-to-patient ratio is lower than WHO recommended threshold. NATHEALTH recommends that the government should allocate funds for training and development programs for doctors, nurses, and allied healthcare workers, putting special emphasis on digital learning stack and smart certification standards.
Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, President, NATHEALTH and MD & CEO, Fortis Healthcare, said, “As we present these comprehensive budget recommendations, NATHEALTH envisions a transformative roadmap for India’s healthcare future. India’s healthcare demands urgent and strategic reforms. I advocate for increasing our healthcare budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP, rationalizing the GST framework, and strengthening our healthcare value chain. It’s crucial to focus on capacity building and training of healthcare professionals to meet the growing demands of our nation. These steps are vital for a robust and responsive healthcare system in India.”
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