What you need to know about healthcare plans from the Union Budget
Although medicare has not shared a large chunk of National GDP there are initiatives shaping the healthcare tech in India. Lets dive-in whether it is despite or due to government initiatives.
Hallo and what a week it is turning out to be. Trust you are energized from a great weekend. I know the Union budget has put a roadblock to your half yearly plans. So have I contemplated.
I was looking at the budget plan for what it has in store for healthcare. I summarize my understanding here.
Broad Highlights for the Common Man and Investment
Focus on Employment and Skilling: Broadly, a Prime Minister’s package with 5 schemes aimed at creating job opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over the next 5 years.
Support for Agriculture: Extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for 5 years and a provision of ₹1.52 lakh crore for the agriculture sector.
Increased Infrastructure Spending: Significant investments in infrastructure development, including road connectivity and industrial parks, with a focus on urban development.
Women Empowerment Initiatives: Allocation of over ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls including, support for women-led enterprises and hostels.
Financial Support for Education: Introduction of financial support for higher education loans up to ₹10 lakh.
But you ask, what about healthcare benefits for the common man? Before I cover what, here’s a helpful chart with a perspective before I enumerate the budget plans for healthcare:
Plans for Healthcare
Gross allocation of ₹90,958.63 crore to the country's healthcare sector of which ₹3,301.73 allocated to the health research department.
Healthcare Infrastructure Development: Allocation of funds for the construction of new medical colleges and hospitals, particularly in underserved regions, to improve healthcare access.
Tribal Health Initiatives: After the advent of PM-JAY, the finance minister announced the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan. The scheme will adopt saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-dominated villages and aspiring districts. This will cover 63,000 villages benefiting 5 crore tribal people.
Saturation Approach for Health Programs: Ensuring comprehensive access to healthcare services to cover all eligible individuals through health programs.
Support for Rural Health: A provision of ₹2.66 lakh crore for rural development, which includes investments in rural healthcare infrastructure.
Some relief on slashing import duty on cancer drugs.
No change in the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
How much is the projected GDP for this fiscal year? With a projected 7.2% of GDP growth this year, with an estimated $3.937 trillion economy, we stand at less than 0.29% of government health expenditure of the projected GDP.
The health-tech market in India is projected to reach ~$35 billion by 2030. The focus for the government is on public healthcare infrastructure including rural healthcare infrastructure development. By a comprehensive approach, expect these initiatives to be bolstered by the government:
Investment in Public Health Infrastructure.
Focus on Telemedicine.
Home and Transit Care Services.
Medical Tourism Initiatives: Plans to establish India as a hub for medical tourism.
Expansion of Healthcare Facilities: A vision to set up 3,000 hospitals in Tier 3 towns.
Eye Care Initiatives: Advocacy for large-scale door-to-door eye screening initiatives, particularly in rural areas.
Support for Advanced Treatments: Emphasis on funding for advanced treatments like immunotherapy and personalized medicine, especially for cancer patients.
Integration of AI in Healthcare.
Emergency Medical Services: Recommendations for budgetary resources to enhance emergency medical services, including digital health infrastructure and health insurance coverage under Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Public-Private Partnerships: Encouragement of public-private partnerships to strengthen healthcare delivery and infrastructure.
Tax Incentives and GST Reforms: Suggestions for tax incentives and GST reforms to ease financial burdens on healthcare providers.
Until next time. Cheerio!