Overcharging by Private Hospitals & Neglect by the Public Ones Has Left an Average Indian in a Lurch
- 3 years ago
Presented in partnership with Oxfam India and A Little Anarky Films
The two major problems with India's health care system are this–
1) Chronic neglect of the public health system
India’s public investment in healthcare is one of the lowest in the world. India allotted 1.28% of GDP as health budget in Financial Year 2018, as compared to the national target of 2.5%. As a result, there is only one government doctor for every 1445 Indians, much lower than the WHO’s prescribed norm of one doctor for 1000 people. The availability of government beds is abysmally low with only 0.7 beds per 1000 population. This lack of resources has also put hurdles in India’s COVID response. The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (ISDP) which was once considered to be India’s first line of defence against epidemics continues to struggle for manpower and resources. Similar reasons were responsible for poor quality data of the Health Management Information System (HMIS), as outlined by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in 2017.
2) The legacy of favouring the private sector
While the public sector languished, the private sector grew exponentially over the last few decades The government has offered exorbitant discounts for land for building private hospitals, along with other subsidies and tax rebates. Immediately before the start of the epidemic, Niti Aayog had proposed that private health should take over government-run district hospitals. Instead of investing in the public healthcare system, the government had entered into partnerships with private health players.
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The two major problems with India's health care system are this–
1) Chronic neglect of the public health system
India’s public investment in healthcare is one of the lowest in the world. India allotted 1.28% of GDP as health budget in Financial Year 2018, as compared to the national target of 2.5%. As a result, there is only one government doctor for every 1445 Indians, much lower than the WHO’s prescribed norm of one doctor for 1000 people. The availability of government beds is abysmally low with only 0.7 beds per 1000 population. This lack of resources has also put hurdles in India’s COVID response. The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (ISDP) which was once considered to be India’s first line of defence against epidemics continues to struggle for manpower and resources. Similar reasons were responsible for poor quality data of the Health Management Information System (HMIS), as outlined by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in 2017.
2) The legacy of favouring the private sector
While the public sector languished, the private sector grew exponentially over the last few decades The government has offered exorbitant discounts for land for building private hospitals, along with other subsidies and tax rebates. Immediately before the start of the epidemic, Niti Aayog had proposed that private health should take over government-run district hospitals. Instead of investing in the public healthcare system, the government had entered into partnerships with private health players.
To read more, log on to www.thewire.in
Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support
The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
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