Health assurance plan to cover diagnostic services

Health ministry to partner private sector, launch scheme by year-end

The health ministry’s ambitious proposal for the National Health Assurance Scheme, which aims to provide insurance cover for all, would also include diagnostic services.

The ministry intends to partner with the private sector to outsource some of the services concerned and also make these affordable.

The insurance scheme, which has been on the government’s priority list from the beginning, might be launched by the end of this year, Lov Verma, secretary, ministry of health and family welfare, said. “We are hopeful of launching the National Health Assurance Scheme this year itself. The scheme will also have a basket of diagnostic services and we intend to partner with the private sector for it,” Verma said.

While the ministry had started talks with companies to outsource services, the move was expected to benefit the medical devices’ industry, which has been facing issues that hinder its growth in the domestic and overseas markets. Industry experts said the industry’s growth was restricted mainly because of a lack of government incentives and misclassification of devices as drugs, leading to operational challenges and delays.

According to the latest report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Boston Consulting Group, the medical device industry, pegged at $6.3 billion, has the potential to touch $50 billion by 2025. The industry is growing at 7-8 per cent annually, as compared to pharmaceuticals’ 18 per cent.

The government’s initiative to include diagnostic services in the proposed scheme is expected to give a significant push to the medical devices’ industry, which produces stents, blood collection systems, infusion therapy devices, central venous access catheters, blood collection tubes and other surgical products, among others.

The health ministry has been working actively to finalise the health scheme. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan had mentioned about the scheme during his recent visit to the US. Even while taking charge as minister, he had said the ministry will work to develop on priority a national health insurance policy covering all citizens.