NATHEALTH Urges Indian Government to Raise Healthcare Budget Allocation in Pre-Budget Recommendations
Introduction: The Healthcare Federation of India, NATHEALTH, has called upon the Indian government to increase the budget allocation for health to 2.5% of the GDP in its pre-Budget recommendations. Emphasizing the urgency for transformative measures, NATHEALTH underscores the need to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, address supply side constraints, and restructure the healthcare GST framework.
Insufficient Public Healthcare Spending: NATHEALTH points out that India’s public healthcare spending remains low, hovering around 1.6-1.8% of GDP. These allocations are deemed inadequate to tackle the extensive healthcare challenges faced by the nation. The federation recommends a substantial increase in budget allocation to 2.5% of GDP, aiming to fortify social insurance schemes, drive healthcare reforms, enhance infrastructure, and expedite the adoption of digital health services nationwide.
Rationalizing GST for Healthcare: In addition to the call for increased budget allocation, NATHEALTH highlights persistent challenges in the healthcare credit chain through the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The federation stresses the need for a reform agenda in the Finance Bill to revamp the healthcare GST framework. Indirect taxation and the absence of input credit for healthcare providers pose significant hurdles that need to be addressed for the industry’s growth.
NATHEALTH President’s Perspective: Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, President of NATHEALTH and Managing Director/CEO of Fortis Healthcare, advocates urgent and strategic reforms in India’s healthcare sector. He emphasizes the importance of increasing the healthcare budget, rationalizing the GST framework, and focusing on capacity building and training for healthcare professionals. According to Raghuvanshi, these steps are crucial for building a robust and responsive healthcare system in India.
Conclusion: As NATHEALTH presents its pre-Budget recommendations, the focus is on elevating the healthcare budget allocation and restructuring the GST framework to address the challenges faced by the healthcare sector in India. The call for transformative measures underscores the significance of strategic investments and reforms to build a resilient and effective healthcare system.
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