Union Budget 2022: 'Allocation for healthcare should have been increased’

A medic carries an oxygen cylinder at a COVID centre. Health experts say taking lessons from the pandemic, state should have increased allocation for the sector. File pic

The Union Budget 2022 received a mixed response from healthcare professionals in the city. While welcoming the proposed national tele-mental health programme, they expressed disappointment that public expenditure on the sector was not hiked. With the pandemic underlining the need for a robust healthcare infrastructure, industry professionals said the Union government should have allocated at least 3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to the sector.

Dr Sujit Chatterjee, the chief executive officer of Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, said the healthcare industry had a lot of expectations from the Union Budget, including a healthy allocation of GDP. "My first expectation from the Union Budget was a realistic view of healthcare. The government must spend a healthy 3.5 per cent of GDP on healthcare. There is hardly anything for healthcare in the Budget. For a nation's economy to be healthy, the nation [its citizens] first needs to be healthy. It is disappointing for the healthcare sector," he said.

Dr Chatterjee said he was looking forward to reduction in import duty on all medical equipment, for India to keep at par with the rest of the world. Citing the experience from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Chatterjee said, "There needs to be a contingency fund with the Reserve Bank of India to be released in case there is a pandemic-like situation again, and the money should be released first to the state affected the most. Moreover, there has to be a tax holiday for the healthcare sector for the next fiscal year for it to recover from the effects of the pandemic."

Joy Chakraborty, chief operating officer of PD Hinduja Hospital, said the pandemic highlighted issues and limitations of the country's healthcare infrastructure. "We would have appreciated it if the Union government had announced definite steps to strengthen infrastructure and medical education," he said.

He also said the government expenditure on healthcare needs to increase to about 3 per cent of the GDP. "There was no mention of this [GDP] in the Budget. More incentives could have been introduced to encourage health insurance. In addition, the the sector needs funds for preventive healthcare, testing, strong research and development, expanding new technologies, and upgrading the services to reduce the overall disease burden," he added.

The healthcare professionals, however, welcomed the decision about launching a national tele-mental health programme to improve access to quality counselling and care services. Dr Vispi Jokhi, a psychiatrist and the CEO of Masina Hospital, said, "While it was disappointing to see there was no increase in the healthcare budget as a proportion of GDP, we welcome the national tele-mental health programme. A thrust to facilitate an objective treatment package, covered by medical insurance in the field of mental health, was something we expected in this Budget," he said.

The Union finance minister, in her Budget speech, also said that an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem would be rolled out.

Dr Roy Patankar, director of Zen Multispecialty Hospital, Chembur, said, "The tele-health market is determined to provide quality services at reduced costs and convenience, with a patient-centric, value-based approach. This will be beneficial for the people in the longer run. The pandemic has induced mental health issues in people of all age groups. By providing a better access to quality mental health counselling and care services, it will be of immense help to those battling mental health issues and seek prompt treatment to improve their quality of life. Overall, the Budget looks promising and satisfying."