Centre's stimulus measure of Rs 50,000 cr for health sector offers boost, but not a long-term solution, says industry

New Delhi: Healthcare industry players welcomed the announcement by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday providing relief for the health sector and said it offers a welcome boost. Welcoming the announcement, Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy said the announcement by the Finance Minister towards the support given to the healthcare sector is encouraging and augurs well for a quick recovery of India’s economy. “The private health sector has played a crucial role in facing this crisis and helped save numerous lives. However, the period also saw hospitals in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities face severe challenges that threatened their survival. These hospitals now have a lifeline in the form of Rs 50,000-crore loan guarantee scheme for the health sector with a cap on the interest rate,” he added. The announcements will also encourage the larger private sector healthcare groups to invest further in health infrastructure in the smaller cities, which in turn will ease access to quality healthcare, bringing world-class medical infrastructure to the doorstep of every common man, Reddy said. “The allocation of Rs 23,220 crore towards public health for COVID care and future preparedness with a special emphasis for pediatric emergency preparedness will bolster our efforts for any such healthcare challenges in future,” he added. In a similar vein, Fortis Healthcare Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashutosh Raghuvanshi said, “We are pleased to know that Rs 50,000 crore has been allocated to scale up medical infrastructure in underserved areas of the country, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 geographies.” The allocation of Rs 23,000 crore for public health, specifically for children and pediatric care will be extremely beneficial in strengthening child-focused services in the ongoing preparations to manage the third wave, he added. Healthcare industry body NATHEALTH President Harsh Mahajan said, “The pin-point focus on augmenting manpower and infrastructural resources for pediatric care is a welcome step and a new beginning.” He, however, added that an increased outlay of 50,000 crore on scaling up medical infrastructure would be useful in the short term but has to be increased manifold to make up for the neglect of the healthcare sector over the past several decades. “Loans should be provided readily to the private sector for upgrading existing infrastructure and building new ones, at very low-interest rates, preferably zero, as ROI in this sector is very slow and low,” Mahajan said. There can be no better time than the present, to fulfill the long-pending demand of the healthcare sector to be accorded infrastructure status, in both letter and spirit, to enable the nation to leapfrog to the next level of healthcare, he added. Welcoming the announcement, Max Ventilator CEO and Founder Ashok Patel said that the finance minister has announced Rs 50,000 crore for the health sector alone implies the centrality that the sector holds at the highest levels of the government.