Monday, January 28, 2013

IMA Suggestions for Health Budget 2013-2014

A meeting on the Health Budget for the year 2013-14 was held on 21st January, 2013 at IMA House. The following were present:-

Dr Narendra Saini, Hony Secretary General, IMA; Dr D R Rai, Sr. National Vice President, IMA; Dr K K Aggarwal, National Vice-President (Elect) IMA; Dr Atul Arora, Hony. Joint Secretary, IMA; Dr Nipun Choudhury, Apollo Hospital; Dr Atul Gandotra, Consultant Pharmaceutical; Dr S C Pandey, Central Govt. Hospital; Dr K K Kalra, NABH; Dr Chander Prakash, Sunder Lal Jain Hospital; Dr Girdhar Gyani, AHPI; Dr Vijay Aggarwal, PCH; Dr Zainab Zaidi, NABH; Dr B K Rana, NABH ; Dr Vijay Kohli, DMA; Dr R K Katharya, Hony Joint Secretary, IMA; Dr R K Gupta, Hony. Joint Secretary, IMACGP; Dr K K Kalra, NABH; Dr B K Rao, SGRM; Dr M K Singhal, IMA Rohini IMA; Dr Kalra, MS Hedgewar Hospital ; Mr Atul Gandotra; Dr Himanshu Jain, HRH and Dr M Bakshi, HRH

Basic issues

1. Food security, primary education, primary justice and primary healthcare are the minimum requirement of common man.

2. Health care needs coordinated effort of all healthcare workers.

3. The benchmark set for the standard health care: accessible, affordable and quality health care.

4. Current situation: Central Budgetary allocation of health- 0.9% of GDP; State expenditure on health- 5.5% of the budget; Central funding in the state for public health- 15%; 75-80% out of pocket expenditure; 70% of patients are managed by private sector and around 15 lakh doctors only 1.5 lakh in Govt.

IMA Recommendations

Health care Status

a. Health should be given infrastructure status and should be notified.

b. No commercial rates for electricity and water consumption for healthcare sector. It should be flat domestic rate without any slabs.

c. Upgrade districts hospitals to medical colleges or super- specialty hospitals.

d. Encourage PPP

e. Incentives for healthcare infrastructure providers: tax holidays, income tax rebates, provision of cheap medicine and instruments.

f. Easy Visa for patient who want to come for treatment from other countries.

 

Health budget allocation

a. Increase the budget for the Health to 2.5 % of GDP as envisaged in National Health Policy 2002.

b. No allocated funds for equipments, schemes, campaigns, projects should lapse. Accountability should be there.

c. Increased budgetary provisions for: drugs in govt. hospitals (at present only 15%); non communicable diseases; disease surveillance; safe drinking water; sanitation; mental health; child and maternal health; geriatric care; cancer.

d. Separate new fund provisions for reimbursements of emergency treatment given in private sector; for production of indigenous drugs, equipments and products.

e. More fund allocation for telemedicine and mobile units.

f. More fund allocation for new medical, nursing, dental and paramedical colleges.

g. Generic medicine should be available freely and their retail price should be properly monitored.

Taxes, custom Duty

a. Tax rebate on Preventive health check-up and health insurance at present is Rs.10,000 it should be increased to Rs. 25,000

b. Zero duty on medical equipments, drugs and reagents. Govt. get only Rs. 2 24 crore as duty through life saving equipment which is a meager amount.

c. Research and development should be given tax rebate. Special incentive should be provided for R & D.

d. No tax should be imposed on indigenous medicine and equipments.

e. Hospital should not be treated as “commercial venture” so property tax and land taxes should be charge as normal taxes.

f. Income tax free income for doctors willing to serve the rural areas.

g. Income tax reliefs for doctors who document 10% free service in their practice.

2. Insurance

a. Remove Service Tax on Medical Insurance.

b. Free insurance for the elderly

c. Soft loans for medical education and for opening of medical establishment.

d. Micro insurance (low premium for low income group) must be addressed.

 

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