Experts bat for govt aid to medical education

The panel members during Karnataka Health Summit 2018 on Sunday made a strong argument about supporting government subsidies for graduate medical education that will mitigate enormous cost of a medical education in private colleges.

In the discussion about "Universal HealthCare - Opportunities and Challenges" organised by Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), it was brought out that given the high cost medical education, the government subsidies will reduce the financial burden on students drastically.

Sujatha Rao, former Union Secretary of Health said that government should share the equal responsibility in developing the health sector in India. "Government is strong in some markets – care for the poor, prevention and promotion, primary care and so on. It should be provided adequate funds to do that. Private sector is strong on institutional care. It should be incentivised to practise ethically, rationally and cost effectively. Both should be held accountable to ensure that patients and people get what they deserve and price is no more a barrier.”

Discussing the emerging trends in current situation and policy framework, Sujatha Rao added that India’s private sector was recording a CAGR of 17% even while the rest of the economy has, till this quarter, been under stress. "It is estimated that by 2030, over 40 million jobs will be generated by the health industry. These trends then raise the question of the role of the private sector and the government in helping achieve universal healthcare”

The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) president, Mahesh Hullimani said that the Karnataka Arogya Scheme has affected the small private hospitals in the state. "About 90% of private hospitals in the state are small with 5 to 10 beds. These hospitals are facing closure because of the scheme. The scheme has been brought out without consulting the stakeholders. We get only 6% of patients due to this while remaining 94% of patients are treated under Arogya scheme,” he said.