āHealth is Wealthā?
Naah, health requires wealth.
Yes, in India, people still have to pay for over 48% of their healthcare expenses from their own pocket.
So much so that in 2017, 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty due to out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
Thatās more than the population of Spain!Ā
Isnāt this ironic in a country where more than 2 million people fly in every year just for medical tourism?
We need to do something to improve the lives of our people. And we need to do it now.
Rajasthan has taken the initiative: it has passed the Right to Health Act.
While this move could be revolutionary for the entire country, it is also seeing major protests from doctors!
Wondering why? ReadOn!
š„ Rajasthanās Right to Health Act
Every person in India has a right to life.
But what good is it if we can't access proper healthcare treatment?
Rajasthanās answer to this fundamental question is the new Right to Health Act that it passed on March 21.
What does this Act do?
It guarantees free treatment, free consultations, free diagnosis and even free medicines at public hospitals.
And if you are facing a medical emergency, you can get treatment at any hospital, public or private, for free.
The state will take care of the charges.
Sounds like a sign that India is becoming a developed country.
But not everything is hunky-dory.
Doctors are not happy with the Act and are protesting.
Why are they angry at an Act that could potentially save thousands of lives?
šŖ The Other Side of the Coin
Well, when it comes to the law, the pen is indeed the mightiest sword of all.
The smallest of words make all the difference.
And some missing words in the Act are creating panic among doctors.
You see, the Act does not clearly define emergency.
So, an emergency could be anything from a toothache to a fractured bone.
All deliveries of babies are technically an emergency.
So, should private hospitals provide all of these services for free?
This would create overcrowding in some smaller hospitals.
The doctors have demanded that the government should first clearly define emergency services and then make it mandatory for only larger hospitals to admit emergency patients for free.
Their second problem?
The Act says that the government will have a budget set aside to take care of these emergencies.Ā
But it does not say when or how much the government will reimburse private hospitals for the medical emergencies they treat for free.
This could be a major problem. If private hospitals keep providing emergency services for free, they could have cash flow issues.Ā
Some may even have to shut down.
And their concern is valid.
According to Rajasthanās budget, its revenue deficit for 2023-24 was estimated to be Rs. 24,896 crores. And the outstanding liabilities are estimated to be 36.8% of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product).
If it cannot reimburse hospitals on time, it could cause more harm than good.Ā
What can be done here?
š”Possible Solutions
Delhi already has a policy for reimbursing hospitals that provide emergency care.
Rajasthan could amend the current Act to include such a provision.
It could also consult doctors to define instances that could be considered an āemergencyā.
But honestly, this could dilute the Right to Health Act.
Now, you might be wondering: why doesnāt the government offer health insurance to people?
The government could set up a fund to back this insurance scheme. People would still not have to pay for healthcare and hospitals could get reimbursement faster.
Well, thatās exactly what Rajasthan had done.
It has a Chiranjavee Health Insurance Scheme under which treatment of up to Rs. 25 lakhs is free.
But hospitals were still demanding upfront payments, making the scheme meaningless.Ā
With a law now in place, hospitals wonāt be able to do so.
But well, the hospitalsā concern is also valid. They are not rest assured that the government will be able to reimburse them on time to keep their operations running.
If only they trusted the government more, people in Rajasthan would be living better lives.
However, there is still light at the end of the tunnel.
This Act could be the turning point for healthcare in India.
With universal healthcare available in India, no parent would have to skip meals to afford their childās treatment.
With universal healthcare available in India, every worker would be more healthy and more productive than ever.
With universal healthcare available in India, our economy could become healthier.Ā
The only question is: Is India ready for this?
With so many Indian states struggling under piles of debt, are they equipped to provide free healthcare?Ā If they arenāt and the move is only going to create more debt for our government, it could weaken our economy.
What do you think about this?
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My submission to this is: make health insurance costs affordable to all people. three steps I would like to suggest
1. Eliminate the GST from the health insurance product that is currently operating at 18%, so it will reduce the product price by 18% compared to earlier.
2. The government should ask the insurance provider to reduce the price by 20% from the current price.
3. The government must contribute 50% of the premium.
If you take the average insurance cost of $10,000 per year, by applying all this, the price could drastically come to $2,000 to $3,000 per year.
It's a win-win-win-win situation for the government, people, insurer, and hospital.