Budget 2019 reactions: Focus on ‘Healthy India’ is the key takeaway: NATHEALTH

New Delhi, February 1, 2019: As India aspires to become USD 10 trillion country by 2030, inclusion of ‘Healthy India’ in the government’s 10 key priorities under ‘Vision 2030’ is one of the key takeaways from today’s Budget and emphasis on Health Assurance with necessary infrastructure, sanitation, pollution control for comprehensive wellness of people would go long way to achieve the goal of sustainable and inclusive development, according to NATHEALTH. “Creating a robust health delivery system for comprehensive wellness of the people would be game changer. India’s NCDs burden is rising alarmingly and it is estimated to cost $6 trillion by 2030. We need to declare war on NCDs and address the critical need for strengthening the Primary Care framework focused on prevention. The Vision 2030 announced would be a critical step to stem the tide now. Proactive steps by a forward-thinking government can help enablers in healthcare to win the war against the disease burden in our country,” said Mr Daljit Singh, President, NATHEALTH. According to NATHEALTH, with Ayushman Bharat scheme in place, healthcare is expected to scale-up. “NATHEALTH welcomes the scaling up plans for the Ayushman Bharat Mission and the government’s focus on universal health coverage that improves India’s march towards a Swasthya Bharat. However, we believe it has to be done collaboratively through value based scientific costing driving sustainable pricing supported by improved ecosystem efficiency gains. This is only way to improve quality and health outcomes over the longer term towards our goals of a healthy India,” said Mr Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General, NATHEALTH. According to NATHEALTH, the Interim Budget 2019 appears to be a comprehensive, wide ranging and balanced, with many positives for the health sector, however, the government needs to revisit unfinished agenda such as ‘Priority Sector’ status to Healthcare for smooth credit flow, mandatory universal health insurance, tax incentives for capacity building, creation of a dedicated infrastructure and innovation fund, while presenting Union Budget 2019-20 couple of months later.