Budget Wishlist: Healthcare

CEO-SPEAK:Shivinder M Singh
Managing director, Fortis Healthcare Ltd

Boost medical infrastucture
The Budget should incentivise public-private partnership projects in healthcare.

New healthcare infrastructure needs to be promoted in Tier-II and -III towns by extending the tax holiday announced in the previous Budget from five years to 15. Easy availability of funding needs to be ensured for this sector, which has a long gestation, by granting it ‘Priority Sector’ status. Healthcare education should be opened up to generate more talent and to meet the huge shortage of doctors, nurses and trained paramedical staff. Organised sector employers should be mandated to provide group health insurance for all their employees and families to help affordability and rapidly enhance health insurance penetration.

CHAMBER SPEAK
FICCI

The Finance Act 2008 provided a five-year tax holiday for hospitals located outside the urban agglomerations, especially in Tier-II and -III towns, provided the hospital is constructed and starts functioning during the period from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2013.

There is a need to extend this benefit to all hospitals located across India, so as to attract investment in development of healthcare facilities across the country and boost growth of infrastructure for the healthcare industry.

EXPERT VIEW
Debasish Mishra Executive director PricewaterhouseCoopers

The government must continue to increase the allocation of funds to the health sector to reach at least 3 per cent of GDP as public spending. But it will be more important to introduce bold reform measures such as a regulatory mechanism in public and private sector to improve access, quality and delivery of care including standardisation of health infrastructure.