Panel expresses concern over cut in health funds

A Parliamentary panel today expressed concern over sharp reduction in allocation of funds to the health sector which it feared would seriously "jeopardise" the targeted health outcomes.
The panel recommended that instead of depending on states for additional resources, in 2015-16, the Centre should "enumerate" a fiscal roadmap for allocating more financial resouces to the health sector so that the vision towards universalisation of affordable healthcare is achieved.
"The committee views with serious concern the sharp reductions in allocations of funds for Health and National Health Mission (NHM) in the central plan in 2015-16 and feels that huge assumption has been made that 42 per cent transfer of central taxes to states in the form of united funds would compensate the shortfall in central funds for health...

"...And if this assumption is not validated, then there will be a very severe shortfall of health expenditure in several backward states which fare poorly in terms of various health indicators and are therefore required to increase their health expenditure but unable to do so for various reasons," said the committee of Demands for Grants 2015-16 of the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
The committee chaired by Satish Chandra Misra said that past experience shows that if the spending is left to the states, contractor intensive sectors take priority over non contractor sectors and health being a contractor intensive sector will take a back seat in such circumstances.

The committee noted that given the "precarious" state of finances in the states, expecting them to allocate adequate financial recourses for health for 2015-16 is "unrealistic".
"The committee apprehends that in the financial year 2015-16, target health outcomes would be seriously jeopardised if the central government does not move quickly towards shouldering a bigger share in overall public spending on health," it said.