Unlike last fiscal, the Budget for 2017-18 has no major reform scheme for the Union Health Ministry which has received a hike of Rs 9,000 crore, up from Rs 39,688 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 48,853 crore. However, while the main focus is on elimination of vector-borne and communicable diseases like leprosy, Kala Azar, TB, Filariasis and Measles, efforts have also been made to boost the health infrastructure.
Plans to increase additional 5,000 PG medical seats, transform 1.5 lakh health sub-centres into health wellness centres and set up two new AIIMS like institutes in Gujarat and Jharkhand were announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday.
The Government further promised to bring down infant mortality rate from 39 in 2014 to 28 by 2019 and maternal mortality rate from 167 in 2011-13 to 100 by 2018-2020
The Finance Minister has also allocated Rs 1,428.65 crore for 2017-18 to the Ayush Ministry, an increase by around 8 per cent over the last fiscal with increased focus on promoting alternative medicines.
One of the highlights of the health budget is emphasis on new rules regarding medical devices, aimed at attracting investment in the sector and ensuring the reduced cost of devices. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that new rules for pricing medical devices should benefit the common man.
Health Minister JP Nadda said that enhanced allocation to health sector in the Budget will strengthen activities of the Ministry towards providing universal health care.
While appreciating the Government's move to frame new rules regarding medical devices regulations and plans to cut medical devices' cost, Rajiv Nath from Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) lamented that the Budget has not specified the increase requested for basic import duty of at least 10 per cent on the gadgets to push Make in India initiative.
Indian Medical Association (IMA) President KK Aggarwal welcomed measures such as deciding to start DNB (Diplomate National Board) courses in many hospitals across the country. However, he stressed on having more family doctors. "All the PG seats which remain vacant may be converted into PG family medicine seats," he suggested.
Dr Prem Nair, Medical Director, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, lamented that it was disappointment that additional allocations for improved re-imbursements for public insurance programs including Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) has not materialised.
In last year's Budget, the Government focused on a new health protection scheme with a security cover of Rs 1 lakh to the poor and making quality medicines available at affordable prices.