The editorial “Mr Mukherjee’s teaser” (March 24) should be an eye-opener for the government, both finance and health ministries. Otherwise, profit-making hospitals may further destroy health services being delivered by the government and not-for-profit hospitals. According to the latest statistics, our government shares nearly 22 per cent of the total health-care expenditure. But this does not mean that 78 per cent of patients go to private sector health care centres in India. There is a gap between the cost factor and patient number in such statistics, which must be thoroughly analysed and interpreted for primary-, secondary- and tertiary-care levels. Also, there is a need to factor in people who do not utilise any health-care facility despite being unwell.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s proposal to levy a direct tax on elite health-care services bodes well for a developing economy like India, since the country has a large number of poor people. Losing this direct tax will mean that the taxpayers would have to bear the burden through indirect taxes or a rise in petrol prices.
The health ministry and its departments, both at the Centre and in states, must do everything possible to improve government health centres and hospitals. Also, the government should decide and enforce the cost of health-care services at different levels. All kinds of subsidies beyond the secondary-care level, including patient subsidy of not-for-profit hospitals, should be converted into insurance-based models.
Ajay K Tripathy, Vellore
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