BENGALURU:  Improving the Centre’s health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat, is the top demand of hospitals and doctors. “This ambitious universal health coverage needs a follow-up as it will empower the needy classes. The role of technology in making quality healthcare more accessible and affordable cannot be undermined,” said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, chairman, Manipal Hospitals.

On the cover provided by the scheme, Dr C N Manjunath, director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, said, “Ayushman Bharat package rates are too low. Expenditure of complex procedures is not met. For example, in open heart surgery, the scheme doesn’t meet even 80% of the expenditure, like valve replacement and aneurysm surgery. There is a need for all rates to be revised. Many procedures have been left out which the Centre needs to include and increase package rates.”

His opinion was echoed by B N Gangadhar, director of the National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences. “Ayushman Bharat needs to include mental health conditions as well,” he said.“When it comes to mental health issues, people are hardly ready to come to the doctor. We need to reach out to them. For this, we need infrastructure and personnel. To reach them, we don’t need doctors, but ground-level health workers who can offer medicine and counselling at the doorstep. The central government needs to invest in this, through their district programme,” he added. 

Increased overall spend on health and tax breaks for patients and hospitals were among the points raised.  Anurag Yadav, Chief Financial Officer, India Operating Division of Parkway Pantai said, “Healthcare has never been a priority for the government, the GDP share is always 1.1%, while in other countries, it is more than 2.2%. Every year, India deals with 6 million non-communicable diseases. Tax redemption should be given to every person for at least Rs 25,000 for health check-ups so that we can prevent these diseases.”For private health organisations setting up shop in non-urban areas, experts believe tax breaks for the first few years of operations will be a welcome move.

Dr Dharminder Nagar, MD of Paras Healthcare said, “Incentives can include tax breaks for the first few years of operations, help in procuring land, making medical equipment GST-free for such hospitals and relaxation of service tax on hospital inputs. Similarly, establishing a mechanism to offer fund support or subsidising treatment cost for private hospitals in smaller towns and rural areas can go a long way in bridging the accessibility gap.”

Investment in the healthcare share market must attract less tax, believesr Thomas Chandy, founder of Hosmat hospital and orthopaedic surgeon, “India has the highest corporate tax in the world at 46%, and needs to come down to 25%, that is the reason why healthcare companies are not able to develop. In this sector, private hospitals cover 85% of the people, while government investment reaches only 15%,” he said.