Right to Health: Make it work

Rajasthan’s legislation to ensure the right to health of all citizens is the first of its kind in the country and is a major initiative in a vital area. The Right to Health Bill, which was passed by the Rajasthan Assembly, gives all residents of the state “the right to free consultation, drugs, diagnostics and emergency care at all public hospitals.”

It commits the State to provide for free services and quality healthcare at all public and select private facilities, especially those institutions which have got land at concessional rates. The Bill has a wide scope and has provisions that enable “residents to collect information to make themselves healthy” and clauses that underline the importance of patient-centric medical protocols like “informed consent.”

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The patient also has the right to choose where medicines have to be procured from and where a test is to be done. There will be an independent authority to address logistical grievances and ensure the implementation of the treatment protocol.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and a number of doctors’ groups in the private sector have protested against the Bill and medical services have been disrupted in the state for some days. They have apprehensions that they will be harassed by medical authorities at various levels for failing to provide emergency medical services. Not all hospitals are equipped with facilities of a high level, and they fear that they will be held accountable for not providing facilities that they do not have. There is also ambiguity in the definition of what constitutes an emergency condition. The doctors also expect there will be problems in the reimbursement of the cost of treatment to private hospitals. There is confusion about the role and functions of the authority to be set up for grievance redressal.

While these concerns have to be addressed, the Bill is a major step toward fulfilling the State’s responsibility to provide essential and equitable healthcare to all citizens. The right to health is part of the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution. The Supreme Court has made this clear. But at the practical level, citizens have not been able to claim this.

Enforcement of the right is important in the country and in a state like Rajasthan where public healthcare is poor. Civil society activists have long demanded the right. There will be problems in implementation in the initial stages but it must be ensured that the legislation is implemented successfully. There is an electoral aim for the legislation but that does not detract from its value.

The right to health, along with the right to education, can enhance the life of the citizen and take the country to a new level.