Jagan govt will be spending Rs.5472 cr towards strengthening government hospitals.
India spent 1.29 percent of its 2019-2020 GDP on healthcare resulting in private healthcare dominating the Covid crisis. Government tries to avoid spending on public healthcare and instead opting to provide insurance for covering treatment at private hospitals. This does not allow Public Health to grow at all.
Efforts are ongoing to make Right to health a fundamental right under constitution. Public health being a state subject is thus not consistent across states in India. Andhra has a ambitious scheme to set up a Rural Health centre in around 10000 villages. Andhra is also spending on strengthening its current public health centres.
Covid situation showed how govt had to depend on private hospitals for they hold nearly seventy percent of hospital beds and almost eighty percent of ventilators. Public Hospitals do not even have oxygen cylinders for pandemics. Private hospitals are able to provide oxygen individually whereas in government hospitals, it is shared oxygen.
Private hospitals fleece the common public. Jagan is doing the right thing in strengthening Public Health care. Government should also make it mandatory for patients to first refer to public hospitals before availing private health through government sponsored insurance.
