Continuing tale of state neglect
7 years, 7 months ago

Continuing tale of state neglect

The Hindu  

Health-care services in India at the time of Independence were a function of the socio-economic and political interests of the colonial rulers. Rise of private sector Instead of securing access to comprehensive health-care services, public health in the post-Independence period came to mean disease control programmes. The underfunding of the NHM should be seen in the light of a comment in the first draft of the new National Health Policy : “The budget received and the expenditure thereunder was only about 40 per cent of what was envisaged for a full revitalisation in the NRHM framework.” India’s reforms in the health sector have been informed by the entire gamut of neoliberal prescriptions mentioned earlier. The direction of reforms has been uncannily similar to those pursued in a number of low- and middle-income countries, including the imposition of ceilings on public health expenditure, promotion of cost recovery in public institutions, segmentation of the health-care system into “basic” care for the poor and private care for the rich and outsourcing of functions to the private sector. This vision of health care has little role for public health services, which are to be increasingly outsourced to the private sector.

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History of this topic

What did Tamil Nadu’s budget have for the health sector?
3 days, 17 hours ago

What did Tamil Nadu’s budget have for the health sector?

The Hindu  

Compared to 2024-2025, Tamil Nadu allotted a little more for the health sector in its budget for 2025-2026, maintaining its focus on non-communicable diseases, particularly cancer. Cervical cancer vaccine decision welcomed A number of doctors and health activists welcomed the decision of the State government to provide HPV vaccination for girls. Malliga J.S., head of preventive oncology at Cancer Institute, …

A status check of universal health coverage in India
5 days, 2 hours ago

A status check of universal health coverage in India

The Hindu  

A little over six years ago, what has been proclaimed as the world’s largest health assurance scheme, namely, the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, was rolled out in the face of hitherto scarce evidence of publicly funded health insurance affording significant levels of financial risk protection, particularly to the marginalised. Frequently, inpatient care insurance is linked to …

x-Health Secretary Warns Against Healthcare Privatisation
Trending News
3 weeks, 6 days ago

x-Health Secretary Warns Against Healthcare Privatisation

Deccan Chronicle  

Dr K. Sujatha Rao, former union health secretary, stressed the need to recognise health as a fundamental right, warning against the government's declining role in public healthcare. Speaking at a seminar in Tirupati on Sunday, she criticised increasing private sector control, leaving the poor without access to affordable treatment.She highlighted that while India's health policy discussions began in 1948, subsequent …

Ex-Health Secretary Warns Against Healthcare Privatisation
Trending News
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Ex-Health Secretary Warns Against Healthcare Privatisation

Deccan Chronicle  

Dr K. Sujatha Rao, former union health secretary, stressed the need to recognise health as a fundamental right, warning against the government's declining role in public healthcare. Speaking at a seminar in Tirupati on Sunday, she criticised increasing private sector control, leaving the poor without access to affordable treatment.She highlighted that while India's health policy discussions began in 1948, subsequent …

Kerala Budget: Not a substantial allocation for health care sector
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Kerala Budget: Not a substantial allocation for health care sector

The Hindu  

The outlay of the State Budget presented by Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal in the Assembly on health care, which excludes health-related expenditure such as water and sanitation, is around ₹3,000 crore, which accounts for 1.74% of the proposed total government expenditure. The issue of poor government spending in the health sector had been plaguing the public health-conscious State like …

A green signal for India to assert its health leadership
1 month, 2 weeks ago

A green signal for India to assert its health leadership

The Hindu  

The Union Budget 2025-26 lays a robust foundation for India to assert its leadership in global health care and innovation, with strategic announcements that bolster medical infrastructure, expand educational opportunities, and promote global collaboration. With a ₹90,958 crore health-care allocation, the addition of 75,000 medical seats over the next five years, and investments in daycare cancer centres, India is poised …

Making health system push economic growth: a case of missed opportunity
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Making health system push economic growth: a case of missed opportunity

The Hindu  

To make our economy grow, we need to push private consumption. The key department within the Health ministry, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, which runs most of the critical public health programmes, saw a meagre 11% increase in its annual Budget Estimates from last fiscal year’s Revised Estimates. Within health, the focus remains on the national level insurance …

Guest Column| Hospital bill should not be a financial death sentence
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Guest Column| Hospital bill should not be a financial death sentence

Hindustan Times  

As the Union Budget-2025 is presented on February 1, India’s healthcare sector stands at the crossroads, demanding urgent reforms and strategic investments. A hospital bill should not be a financial death sentence, yet India’s healthcare system is marked by stark disparities in costs and service quality across private hospitals. Increase healthcare allocation A nation’s health is its true wealth, yet …

Economic Survey 2025: AB-PMJAY reduced out-of-pocket-expenditure from 62.6% to 39.4%
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey 2025: AB-PMJAY reduced out-of-pocket-expenditure from 62.6% to 39.4%

The Hindu  

The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, India’s health assurance scheme, providing financial protection for secondary and tertiary healthcare, has contributed to significant reductions in out-of-pocket expenditure through an increase in social security and primary health expenditure, with over ₹1.25 lakh crore in savings recorded, said the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on Friday, January 31, 2025, by …

Budget 2025: How can government make healthcare more affordable
2 months ago

Budget 2025: How can government make healthcare more affordable

India Today  

All eyes are set on February 1, as the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to unveil the Budget 2025. These challenges hinder the full realisation of a healthier, more resilient population.” He added, “A key step in this direction would be rationalising the GST from the current 18% on health and wellness products, including dietary supplements.” EXPANDING GST EXEMPTIONS …

Doctors urge govt. to allocate more funds to health sector
2 months, 1 week ago

Doctors urge govt. to allocate more funds to health sector

The Hindu  

Medical professionals on Thursday urged the government to urgently strengthen primary health centres, community health centres and district health centres in the State. Health Budget-2025’, organised by Praja Aarogya Vedika at MBVK Bhavan in Vijayawada, doctors discussed the importance of raising the allocation for the health sector in the upcoming Budget. Some of their demands include attention to preventive healthcare; …

A vision for healthcare in India
2 months, 2 weeks ago

A vision for healthcare in India

The Hindu  

Health development is an integral part of social development. Universal health coverage is a vital consideration in an impoverished country such as India and expanding the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to include a broader population base is without doubt a crucial initiative. Given that it’s the digital era, implementing the National Digital Health Mission to create digital health …

A decade of transformation: India's journey towards healthcare equity and excellence
2 months, 3 weeks ago

A decade of transformation: India's journey towards healthcare equity and excellence

India Today  

The journey of healthcare transformation is not merely about policy shifts or technological integration; it is about reimagining the role of healthcare as a cornerstone of national development. For global leaders, policymakers, and healthcare executives, India’s transformative journey offers a compelling roadmap for addressing systemic challenges while leveraging innovation for scalable, equitable impact. Lessons for global leaders India’s healthcare transformation …

India’s Public Health Crisis: The Price of Privatisation
2 months, 3 weeks ago

India’s Public Health Crisis: The Price of Privatisation

The Hindu  

Published : Dec 25, 2024 12:00 IST - 9 MINS READ As a nation and as a population, India shares with its South and South-East Asian neighbours the legacy of a heavy public health burden shaped by a common historical past. A recent NITI Aayog report reveals that the average monthly per capita health expenditure remains at about 13 per …

Soaring inflation pushes up health insurance premiums; makes standardised care costlier
3 months ago

Soaring inflation pushes up health insurance premiums; makes standardised care costlier

The Hindu  

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, India is witnessing a surge in healthcare cost inflation, making assured and standardised healthcare unviable for several sections of the society and pushing up health insurance premiums. Speaking to The Hindu, Sumit Bohra, president of the Insurance Brokers Association of India notes that currently in India, rising healthcare costs and growing health insurance premiums are feeding …

The challenge of universal health coverage
3 months ago

The challenge of universal health coverage

The Hindu  

The ongoing national conversation on what India needs to do for universal health coverage often misses the complexity of multiple health systems and the unique challenges they bring. Not the solution Government health expenditure in West Bengal, which was ₹1,346 per capita in 2019-20, is only about 61% of the estimated ₹2,205 required to offer UHC. The story is no …

PM Modi Launches Health Cover Plan for Senior Citizens, Hits Out at Delhi and West Bengal Governments
4 months, 3 weeks ago

PM Modi Launches Health Cover Plan for Senior Citizens, Hits Out at Delhi and West Bengal Governments

Hindustan Times  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a health cover plan for citizens aged 70 and above under the government's flagship Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). The scheme will provide health coverage to all eligible senior citizens regardless of their income. Modi highlighted that the scheme was a blessing for every person associated with it, be it a …

Evolution of the health care policy framework in India
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Evolution of the health care policy framework in India

Hindustan Times  

This paper traces the history of the evolution of India’s health care policy framework, focusing on its major objectives, challenges faced, and outcomes emerged. The key themes prevalent across most of these policies and specific initiatives included: increasing public health spending and reducing out-of-pocket or catastrophic health spending; addressing rural-urban inequalities in healthcare; developing primary health care; and achieving universal …

Health care: Innovations for an inclusive future
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Health care: Innovations for an inclusive future

Hindustan Times  

India's health care sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven not just by rising incomes, but also through a confluence of transformative factors. By fostering supportive government policies, India has the potential not only to improve health care for its citizens but also to set a global benchmark for affordable, high-quality care. Four areas need urgent attention: * Policy and regulatory …

The burden of health care on India’s poorest
7 months, 1 week ago

The burden of health care on India’s poorest

Hindustan Times  

In recent years, the Indian government has made significant strides in reducing the burden of health expenditure on the common citizen. A particular focus of the government has been to reduce the burden of severe economic shocks due to “catastrophic” health care expenditure such as hospitalisation. In order to understand the character of catastrophic health expenditure, Artha Global’s Centre for …

Fiscal transfers from the Union to states and health care in India
9 months ago

Fiscal transfers from the Union to states and health care in India

Hindustan Times  

The key focus of the study is to assess the role of fiscal transfers from the Union government compared to states’ own revenue in explaining their healthcare spending. However, own revenue was more significant than unconditional fiscal transfers in explaining health spending by economically well-off states. In contrast, health spending by economically weaker states was determined solely by unconditional fiscal …

Letters to The Editor — June 11, 2024
9 months, 1 week ago

Letters to The Editor — June 11, 2024

The Hindu  

Alternative medicine The recent article by Dr. K. Madan Gopal, “The delicate balancing of health-care costs”, on the need for balancing health-care costs, puts forth much needed insights into the matter. India enjoys medical pluralism and the role of alternative health care too needs to be deliberated upon in this context, especially in the preventive aspect. Intervention through alternative medical …

Urban health: Slipping through the cracks
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Urban health: Slipping through the cracks

Hindustan Times  

A large volume of evidence sharply highlights the rural-urban divide in health outcomes in India, along with the differences in availability, accessibility, and affordability of health care services between rural and urban areas. Health The paper finds that India is far from reaching the goal of effective self-governance of local bodies in urban areas, and one casualty of this gap …

Rise in public health spending due to States, not Centre
10 months ago

Rise in public health spending due to States, not Centre

The Hindu  

Public spending on health in India has historically remained low. Note: Union government spending includes spending by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Min of AYUSH Furthermore, a significant part of the increase in health investment as a percentage of GDP during the pandemic needs to be attributed to the negative and low growth of GDP, while absolute increase …

Public-private partnership: Pathway to health for all
10 months ago

Public-private partnership: Pathway to health for all

Hindustan Times  

The goal of universal health coverage is one of the most significant commitments to equitable quality health care for all. Health care A true partnership, where the professionalism, patience and perseverance of private sector can positively impact the health of the Indian population across a new private-public partnership nomenclature--the poor, paediatric and pregnant women alike. · Technology and innovation towards …

Healthcare privatisation linked with worse outcomes, higher profits: Lancet Study
10 months ago

Healthcare privatisation linked with worse outcomes, higher profits: Lancet Study

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Privatisation of healthcare was found to almost never have a positive effect on the quality of care, and was associated with higher profits, a research that reviewed previous studies of high-income countries such as the US, Germany, Canada, and South Korea has claimed.Researchers said the findings, published in The Lancet Public Health journal, challenged the theory that privatisation …

Have India’s health centres really ‘collapsed’?
1 year ago

Have India’s health centres really ‘collapsed’?

The Hindu  

Jean Drèze, Reetika Khera, Rishabh Malhotra, ‘The Changing State of Health Centres in North India’, Economic & Political Weekly There is a well-documented infamy around public health centres. Localised healthcare “is a much better way of dealing with most health problems than to let patients loose on larger public hospitals or the private sector”. “Health centres today have better facilities, …

Is your vote for health?
1 year ago

Is your vote for health?

The Hindu  

There are no two ways about this thing, election fever is in the air and with advancing summer, the earth has begun to sizzle not just with the heat, but also early election preparedness. The NDA ensured continuity of policy by scrapping the Medical Council of India and establishing the National Medical Commission, further strengthened the rural health infrastructure with …

Populism does not help public health
1 year, 1 month ago

Populism does not help public health

The Hindu  

In the heart of India’s bustling cities and tranquil villages, there is a silent but significant fight raging on the public health front. The absence of specialised courses such as public health engineering in India’s educational institutions points to a gap in the multidisciplinary approach required in public health management. The current physician-centric focus of India’s public health system often …

Union Budget: Healthcare challenges and how the government can navigate them
1 year, 1 month ago

Union Budget: Healthcare challenges and how the government can navigate them

Firstpost  

The healthcare industry has always been the core of any flourishing civilisation. Modern medical challenges Public expenditure on healthcare contributes to only 1.3 per cent of GDP, resulting in compromised healthcare standards. As per some projections, AI utilisation in healthcare resource optimisation could contribute $25 billion to India’s GDP by 2025. Role of government in shaping healthcare The government must …

A milestone in the journey to universal health care
1 year, 3 months ago

A milestone in the journey to universal health care

Hindustan Times  

In a landmark move for India’s health care system, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 10,000th Jan Aushadhi Kendra under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana at AIIMS in Deoghar last week. While the media spotlight might not have brightly shone on this accomplishment, it’s a significant stride in India’s health care narrative. In his 2023 Independence Day address, PM Modi …

Out-of-pocket health expenditure in India: Inter-state variations
1 year, 7 months ago

Out-of-pocket health expenditure in India: Inter-state variations

Hindustan Times  

Adequate public investment in health, by ensuring better affordability and availability of health care, is crucial for sustaining a resilient public health system. Chart 2 In five states, high public health spending is related to low OOPE, while in four states, low public health spending is related to high OOPE. In eight states, low public health spending is related to …

Voluntary health insurance and its expansion
1 year, 7 months ago

Voluntary health insurance and its expansion

Hindustan Times  

With the launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, insurance is no doubt set to play a dominant role in India as seen in other countries, in its path towards universal health coverage. These schemes form multiple risk pools extending from social health insurance like the Central Government Health Scheme and Employee State Insurance Scheme for formal employees to private …

Centre mandated spending on health has positive impact: study
1 year, 8 months ago

Centre mandated spending on health has positive impact: study

The Hindu  

Measures taken by the National Health Mission have given a positive fillip to the health sector across the country in the past 15 years, a study published in the Public Health For All journal has concluded. The States received funding only if they complied with the Central Government’s schemes, and States were nudged to enhance investment in primary health care. …

On Raj health bill, govt and doctors need to negotiate
1 year, 11 months ago

On Raj health bill, govt and doctors need to negotiate

Hindustan Times  

The passing of the Right to Health Bill in Rajasthan has sparked controversy, with health care professionals protesting its implementation. Despite its drawbacks and implementation challenges, the legislative approach is crucial in holding the government accountable for health care failures and raising public awareness of health rights, which are currently lacking. Doctors have primarily objected to a provision in the …

Who is responsible for healthcare in India: the government or the individual?
2 years, 1 month ago

Who is responsible for healthcare in India: the government or the individual?

The Hindu  

Although India has a large privately managed healthcare system, most people still believe that the government should be responsible for providing healthcare services. In terms of the kinds of services that people want the government to improve, close to two in five said the government should improve public healthcare by improving the.facilities available at government dispensaries and government hospitals; compared …

Budget 2023: What Insurance Industry Demands to Boost Insurance Penetration in India
2 years, 2 months ago

Budget 2023: What Insurance Industry Demands to Boost Insurance Penetration in India

News 18  

The Union Budget 2023 — the most eagerly awaited financial event of the year — is just around the corner. Since the growth in the insurance sector has the potential to directly aid India’s global aspirations, Budget 2023 could prove to be a catalyst for its reformation. Here are a few expectations the insurance sector has from this year’s Budget: …

Alleviating the scourge of private healthcare
2 years, 2 months ago

Alleviating the scourge of private healthcare

The Hindu  

India ranks poorly on multiple health financing indicators. Public health insurance schemes have often been reproached for imposing unreasonable package rates on empanelled private providers with a weak regard for actual costs of care. For instance, some countries like Canada have conceived regional health boards that organise care equitably within regions, exploit economies of scale, and bring down healthcare costs. …

India’s journey towards improving health for all
2 years, 4 months ago

India’s journey towards improving health for all

Hindustan Times  

In the past few decades, research, science, innovation, policy initiatives and collaborations across public, private and social sectors around the globe have led to considerable progress in prolonging and improving life. The India Hypertension Control Initiative was awarded the 2022 UN Interagency Task Force and the WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Award recently. India’s pharmaceutical industry has played …

What is the ideal public health insurance model?
2 years, 5 months ago

What is the ideal public health insurance model?

The Hindu  

Public health insurance is the arrangement by which the government undertakes to provide a guarantee of relief against illness, disability, or death in return for payment of a specified premium. UK and India models In the National Health Services model of the UK and India, the health systems are managed by earmarking a proportion of the tax collected by the …

A heartening health update
2 years, 6 months ago

A heartening health update

Hindustan Times  

The latest report of National Health Accounts — it has data for 2018-19 — shows that India continues to make progress towards reducing the burden of health spending on household budgets. This is a heartening development because the poor are more likely to gain when government spending rather than private health insurance brings about a reduction in OOP spending. As …

Defining a new pathway for enhanced healthcare
3 years ago

Defining a new pathway for enhanced healthcare

Hindustan Times  

The challenges faced in the past by the Indian healthcare system pale in comparison with those brought on by the pandemic. Globally it can be seen that government expenditures on health need to be more than 70% to 75% of total health expenditures to deliver truly high-quality healthcare services. A review of the November 2021 State of State Finances report …

To bolster health care, governments must raise their budget allocations
3 years ago

To bolster health care, governments must raise their budget allocations

Hindustan Times  

We are now past the halfway mark between 2017 and 2025. The National Health Policy 2017 aimed to increase public health spending from about 1% of the Gross Domestic Product to 2.5% by 2025. Before NHP 2017, NHP 2002, National Rural Health Mission in 2005, and the 11th and 12th five-year plans, all envisioned an increase in public health spending …

Budget 2022: Why healthcare policies need to factor entire value chain from prevention, diagnosis, treatment to insurance coverage
3 years, 1 month ago

Budget 2022: Why healthcare policies need to factor entire value chain from prevention, diagnosis, treatment to insurance coverage

Firstpost  

Union Budget 2022-23: The COVID-19 crisis experience has already highlighted the challenges faced by the healthcare sector Although healthcare has always been an evolving field with a focus on new therapies, drugs, diagnostic techniques, preventive medicine, and constant research, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that shifted attention to our preparedness in facing a healthcare crisis. Budget 2020-21 takeaways The Rs …

Chandrajit Banerjee | Budget must pave way for ambitious decadal growth
3 years, 2 months ago

Chandrajit Banerjee | Budget must pave way for ambitious decadal growth

Deccan Chronicle  

India’s economy has seen a sharp rebound after the first two waves of the Covid-19 pandemic and is expected to be the fastest growing major economy this year. Low government health expenditure leads to higher per capita out-of-pocket expenditure, impacting disposable incomes and access to healthcare. Therefore, India must increase its public expenditure on healthcare from the current 1.3 per …

The political pathway to health system improvements in India
3 years, 3 months ago

The political pathway to health system improvements in India

Hindustan Times  

The Indian health care sector has made significant progress in the last few decades. In this paper, the authors analyse the political determinants of improved health outcomes, making a case for political attention to healthcare, through increased investments, health care reforms and improved capacity to deliver curative and public health. The shortcomings of low public investment in health, a fragmented …

More a private sector primer than health-care pathway
3 years, 4 months ago

More a private sector primer than health-care pathway

The Hindu  

The central government’s flagship health insurance scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, aims to extend hospitalisation cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per annum to a poor and vulnerable population of nearly 50 crore people. Apart from AB-PMJAY and State-level government health insurance schemes, small segments of the Indian population are covered under social health insurance …

Wanted: A truly generous health cheque for underserved Indians
3 years, 4 months ago

Wanted: A truly generous health cheque for underserved Indians

Live Mint  

At an annual spend hovering around ₹2,000 per capita, India’s public health expenditure remains one of the lowest among major economies in the world. Yet, in fiscal 2020-21, when the pandemic burst on the scene, India’s government health expenditure inched up to merely 1.5% of GDP. The National Health Policy, in addition to recommending an increase in overall public health …

‘More health for the money’: Obtaining more value from financing
3 years, 6 months ago

‘More health for the money’: Obtaining more value from financing

Hindustan Times  

Currently, we in India spend a total of about 4% of our Gross Domestic Product on health care, with almost 2.5% being directly paid for by us at the time that we use any health care services, and only 1.25% being spent by the government. Having failed to obtain substantial improvements within their current systems using traditional methods, a number …

‘More Money for Health’: Financing Universal Health Coverage in India
3 years, 6 months ago

‘More Money for Health’: Financing Universal Health Coverage in India

Hindustan Times  

Any discussion of the pathways that India needs to take towards Universal Healthcare would be incomplete without a clear understanding of how it is to be financed. However, perhaps the most important challenge that we face in our UHC journey is that while the proportions being allocated to healthcare by each state government from its annual budget vary greatly and …

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