New Delhi: As India anticipates the first comprehensive Union Budget under the Modi 3.0 government, the healthcare sector stands at a pivotal juncture. The interim budget has laid out a roadmap, but transforming the entire healthcare landscape requires a comprehensive and concerted effort.
Experts and healthcare leaders emphasize that prioritizing and scaling up innovations, investment, infrastructure, capacity building, medical tourism, and tax reforms are essential for creating a new ecosystem to support the nation’s ambitious healthcare goals.
According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), public spending in healthcare needs to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.9%. The goal is to achieve 2.5% by 2025-26 and 3% by 2030-31, targets that are ambitious and will require strategic planning and execution. Unfortunately, India has yet to reach the target of 2.5% of GDP spending on healthcare. Latest government data indicates as a percentage of the total Budget, health spending has declined from 2.4% in 2018-19 to 1.9% in 2023-24. This decrease is alarming, considering the growing healthcare needs of Indian population.
“One of the key expectations from the upcoming budget is the reclassification of hospitals as infrastructure investments. This reclassification can attract significant private sector investment, which is essential for building state-of-the-art healthcare facilities. Additionally, extending interest rate subvention for medical equipment can alleviate financial burdens on hospitals, enabling them to upgrade their technology and improve service delivery,” said Ms Sugandh Ahluwalia, Chief Strategy Officer, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), New Delhi.
The financial strain exacerbated by rising healthcare costs and insurance challenges, calls for urgent government intervention. In the interim budget the government announced widening the coverage by including Aaganwadi and ASHA workers. The sector expects that the government would further widen the coverage by included the excluded self-employed, seniors above 70-year-old, and other weaker groups.
On capacity-building, Mr Alok Khanna, Head Marketing and Branding Officer at Medanta Lucknow said, “This initiative is expected to go a long way in dealing with the acute shortage of doctors in India, especially in underserved areas. By leveraging existing hospital facilities, we can expedite the establishment of new medical colleges, thus reducing the financial burden and infrastructure development time. However, merely setting up colleges is not enough. We need to ensure that these institutions are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and experienced faculty.The government needs to pay attention on attracting young doctors to work in Tier II and III cities and rural areas to break the rural-urban divide and make quality care more accessible.”
In view of battling cancers efficiently, the announcement of cervical cancer vaccination programin interim budget was a positive move.”It is promising to note that the government plans to promote vaccination for girls aged 9 to 14 to prevent cervical cancer. However, to maximize the impact of this program, it is essential to ensure widespread awareness and accessibility. We need a robust outreach strategy that includes education campaigns in schools and communities to inform parents and guardians about the benefits of the vaccine,” said Dr. Ajay Kohli, Group Head Oncology Director Corporate Growth Initiatives North and Narayana Hospital Gurugram.
According to experts and healthcare leaders, rational policies and reforms would be powerful catalysts in creating a new healthcare ecosystem.
“Medical tourism, a significant foreign exchange earner, requires additional policy support. If we have to offer world-class and cost-effective treatment and care to patients even from the US, UK, and Europe, the government needs to take up the issue of flying time restrictions beyond certain hours through diplomatic channels. Cross-border partnerships can further promote medical value travel. Incentives for investors in hospitals, facilitators, travel service providers, and lodging facilities are needed to ensure a seamless, cost-effective, and safe process for patients traveling to India for treatment,” said Mr. Baldev Raj, Founder and Chief, Prius Brand and Business Partners.
“Public-private partnerships need to be pushed further. A unique blueprint for medical tourism, emphasizing effective collaboration, hassle-free visas, advanced medical technology, knowledge exchange, and incentivized packages, is essential. India, ranked 10th in the Medical Tourism Index, we would now expect much better ranking with robust policy reforms,” addedthe Chief of Prius Brand and Business Partners.
Healthcare experts and leaders widely admitted that the upcoming Union Budget offers a critical opportunity to reshape India’s healthcare landscape.
