 "Budget 2021-22 wishlist: Here are the key challenges in health care sector")
Key challenges
- Postponement of electives Patients have been delaying elective surgeries on fear of catching infection
- Stress on infra Govt had to reserve beds in hospitals for Covid treatment and create significant temporary capacity
- Drop in medical travel: Ban on international travel prevented foreigners coming to India to avail treatment
- Returns lower than cost of capital: Many providers earn return in single digits
- Lack of skilled human resource It impedes health care delivery
- Imports of medical devices and equipment: Close to 75% of medical devices are imported leading to forex loss
- Continuing low reimbursement rates under PMJAY It’s unattractive for private sector to participate in the programme
Industry ask
- Incentivise creation of adequate infra to deal with the triple disease burden
- Mandate PPP in other clinical procedures and hospitals like it has been done in dialysis
- Leveraging private sector expertise to vaccinate a billion people n Rationalise the GST structure for hospitals
- Tax sops: Reduce tax rates from 25% to 15% for establishing new private hospitals; provide tax benefits in proportion to revenue generated from treating medical value travel patients
- A dedicated fund for health care start-ups, which are working on enhancing access and reducing costs
- Monitor PLI scheme and revisit incentives for domestic manufacturing
