By Alok Roy
Indian Union Budget 2021-22: While healthcare is one of the most critical pillars of nation-creating, traditionally India has not invested enough sources on wellness of its citizens. Despite the important TB burden and sporadic outbreaks of other infectious illnesses like chickenpox, our public wellness infrastructure has been largely deficient, and COVID-19 pandemic had ascertained this additional.
Although, there have been tremendous efforts by the central and state governments more than the previous handful of months to strengthen the sources- healthcare facilities and workforce, what is needed is a new improvement paradigm with heightened investment towards healthcare infrastructure. The requisite concentrate for a stronger public wellness technique, along with proper assistance for sustenance as nicely as expansion of private healthcare infrastructure is basic for developing a complete healthcare ecosystem envisioned in the National Health Policy 2017.
In order to reach these and to overcome the twin challenge of surging non-communicable and infectious illnesses, it is crucial that the public spending on healthcare is improved to 4.5% of GDP more than next 5-7 years.
It is also critical that the government offers proper fiscal incentives and creates sustainable public policy to encourage investment in private healthcare infrastructure, offered that private sector caters to 70% of healthcare demand. Hospitals must be incorporated below the definition of ‘industrial undertaking’ u/s 72A of IT Act. This has been a extended-standing demand, essential to expedite private investment in healthcare capacity creating and to guarantee that healthcare is treated at par with other sectors.
Currently, the rewards of deduction for CAPEX are extended only to hospitals possessing a minimum capacity of one hundred beds. No rewards are supplied to encourage the setup of smaller sized hospitals/nursing properties in rural regions posing as an impediment for organizations to begin chains of smaller sized hospitals. Given that there is an urgent have to have for expansion of healthcare facilities in smaller sized cities and rural regions, the rewards u/s 35AD of IT Act must be extended to hospitals possessing:
- min of 50 beds in tier II, III and IV cities and
- min of 25 beds in rural areas
Further, although grappling with COVID-19, hospitals have had to make substantial capital expenditure towards structural modifications in the creating layout, air-flows and so on. and important fresh investment in health-related gear, bringing in immense strain on hospital money flow and operational sustenance. FICCI has encouraged that some relief via weighted deduction on CAPEX u/s 35AD be supplied to all hospitals who have produced any capital expenditure for prevention and/ or therapy of COVID patients.
The Finance Ministry has devised an inspiring INR 111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for 2020-25, which consists of INR 1.69 lakh crores for infrastructure improvement projects for healthcare. Yet, offered the infrastructure gaps and increasing demand owing to escalating illness burden in the nation, there is a have to have for bolder investment for wellness sector.
Healthcare must be accorded ‘National Priority’ status, as was carried out for the IT sector, to bring in requisite focus and investment. Innovative extended-term financing structures, specific healthcare zones, subsidized expense for land and electrical energy, greater FSI for hospital buildings are some of the measures required for enhancing infrastructure creation in healthcare.
The pandemic has also proved that we can not be more than-dependent on only testing and therapy of illnesses. Primary and preventive care is important for a robust healthcare technique. It is encouraged that tax exemption on Preventive Health verify-up be raised from the present Rs 5,000 per individual (Rs 7,000 for senior citizens) to Rs 20,000 u/s 80-D of IT Act to encourage preventive care. This is an chance incentivizing wellness-oriented customer behaviour for insulating men and women from effects of unanticipated healthcare spending and for institutionalising a Healthcare Savings Fund.
There is also a have to have to boost proportion of Health Research allocation in all round Health Expenditure to at least 6% of the funds allocated to MoHFW. The pandemic has ascertained that Health Research is a essential element for forging an helpful healthcare response and it is also critical for attaining SDG-3 ambitions.
(Alok Roy is the Co-Chair at FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman of Medica Group of Hospitals. The views expressed are the author’s personal.)