The Union government plans to introduce a health cess to develop primary or basic healthcare infrastructure across the country.
This is mentioned in the National Health Policy 2015 draft put up on the ministry of health website on Wednesday for suggestions from public.
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The draft policy suggests the cess may be drawn from general taxation as well as “specific commodity taxes” such as those on tobacco and alcohol. Some industries that have a negative impact on natural habitats or result in displacement, too, may be asked to pay health cess.
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Public health experts, though, were unhappy with the draft policy saying it is vague on contentious issues such as the role of private healthcare providers and ways to fund healthcare for economically backward.
“The document sounds good, but it doesn’t emphasize commitment. For instance, it says the government will aim to reduce the common man’s out-of-pocket expenditure but doesn’t say by how much and by when,” said Dr Abhay Shukla of Jan Swasathya Abhiyan, a national coalition of NGOs in healthcare sector. “Considering that the Union government slashed the health budget last week, one wonders if this document is a mere decorative piece.”
National Health Policy Draft 2015 comes up almost 12 years after the last such plan, citing three main reasons—changing health needs, government’s inadequate healthcare expenditure and high out-of-pocket expenditure by people.
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While non-communicable diseases account for 39.1% of India’s ill-health burden, the draft points out that conditions such as cancer and heart problems are not covered too well in the public health system. Communicable diseases account for 24% of India’s disease burden. Most of them, almost 75%, too, are not part of any existing national programmes.
Noting that families are driven to bankruptcy by healthcare expenditure, the draft said around 6.9% of the household monthly per capita expenditure in rural areas and 5.5% in urban areas is spent on healthcare.
anantjani.com 