Pre Budget Expectations Dr Shakti Gupta

Financing Policy :  The government should set-up Health Financing Unit within a national reputed Institute having capacities to undertake research, policy development, and dissemination work. One of the mandates of this unit should be to undertake studies to develop appropriate framework to discuss and debate social health insurance mechanisms, community based financing schemes and insurance mechanisms developed by self-help groups and community based organisation.
6.         Strategies to Protect Poor from High Medical Costs :  The government has now privatized the insurance sector and we may have soon number of insurance companies which would provide the health insurance products. We know that people belonging to lower income groups would be left out in the process and will suffer because of high medical costs. In view of these the Government should take proactive steps to reform the public healthcare delivery system so that it caters to the poor better. The Government should develop the strategies to encourage the community based financing mechanisms. Social health insurance in the form of Rashtriya Swathya Bima Yojna (RSBY), be expanded to the informal sector. It should be expanded to include all those in the informal sector above 65 years of age and earning less than Rs10,000 per month in urban areas and Rs5,000 per month in rural areas.
 7.         Uniform Legislation for the Country & their Strict Implementation :Health and sanitation laws need to be urgently revamped as some of them are outdated legacies of the British times. Legislation for a uniform public health system should be urgently brought in for the whole country to ensure the basic minimum level of health, hygiene and safety for citizens. Adequate grievance redressal systems in the form of Ombudsmen need to be set up, and citizens' charters should be enforced in all health establishments. Duty cut on medical equipment and ambulance & Tax holiday for setting up Rural Hospital will provide further required boost to this sector.

CONCLUSION :It is a well known fact that Indian health system needs immediate overhauling and infrastructure strengthening to make any dent into the high burden of disease, infant mortality and maternal mortality and to achieve Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, it is time that sufficient money is invested in proven interventions in a timely manner. The health sector in India promptly needs more investment.