Healthcare Leaders Decode Union Budget 2020

In the light of Indians becoming vulnerable to non-communicable, lifestyle related issues, and new kind of infectious diseases, the government has laid out its policy crystal and clear in the Union Budget 2020-21. It has acknowledged the importance of accessible and affordable model of healthcare delivery system and focused on bringing in several key structural reforms paving way towards its goal for universal Health coverage. Mukul Kumar Mishra of Elets News Network (ENN) encapsulates analytic viewpoints of healthcare leaders about measures undertaken in the Budget and wider ramifications of the same.

Highlighting the Government’s vision of ‘Health for All’, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently announced a series of measures as part of the Union Budget 2020 presented in the Parliament. The first budget of the new decade of 21st century was presented amidst huge expectations of healthcare fraternity pertaining to a substantial increase in health allocation, revision in GST rates on medical equipments, impetus to primary care, and encouraging private players to set shops in tier-2 and three cities by offering major incentives and tax breaks.

Though the Government has tried to address some of the concerns with announcements like viability gap funding, 5 percent cess on the import of medical devices, setting up PPP mode hospitals in 112 aspirational districts, and expansion of Jan Aushadhi programme, those are not considered enough to fix huge fault lines at various levels of the Indian healthcare delivery system.

RS 69,000 CRORE TO BOOST HEALTH SECTOR

A total of Rs 69,000 crore has been earmarked for health including Rs 6400 crores for Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), an increase of 4.1 percent over the previous year’s allocation of Rs 62,659.12 crore. As per the Indian Medical Association (IMA) allocation seems too meagre to have any impact. As per the association, Rs 1,60, 000 cr is needed to provide effective care under Ayushman Bharat only.

Moreover, the National Health Policy targets to increasing the health budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The current health budget (Union and state together) languishes at about 1% of GDP. Increasing it by 2.5x in the next five years would require at least a 25% increase in allocations on a year-on-year basis.

VIABILITY GAP FUNDING TO BOOST INFRASTRUCTURE