E-Paper
Patients’ out-of-pocket medical spend data not updated: Ludhiana MP Arora
Arora said this after Union minister of state for health and family welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar stated in Rajya Sabha that the out-of-pocket expenditure on health as percentage of total health expenditure in the country for the year 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 are 60.6%, 58.7%, 48.8% and 48.2% respectively, and therefore, there is a declining trend in out-of-pocket medical spend
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora speaking during a press conference held in Ludhiana on Thursday said the data of patients’ out-of-pocket medical spend for the year 2018-19 in Punjab is not updated.
Arora said this after Union minister of state for health and family welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar stated in Rajya Sabha that the out-of-pocket expenditure on health as percentage of total health expenditure in the country for the year 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 are 60.6%, 58.7%, 48.8% and 48.2% respectively, and therefore, there is a declining trend in out-of-pocket medical spend.
The union minister gave this reply to a question asked by Arora. Out-of-pocket medical spend for India for the year 2018-19, in Punjab was Rs.9196. Arora had asked about the steps taken by the ministry to make healthcare affordable and reduce out of pocket expenses, and the details out of pocket expenses for healthcare, state and UT-wise.
Giving out details, Arora said he is not completely satisfied with the minister’s statement as the required data made available is not updated. “The Union minister should have provided latest and updated data to analyse the things in the present scenario,” he pointed out. He added there might be a lot of changes after 2018-19.
Arora said the Union minister, also mentioned that the budget allocation for department of health and family Welfare (DoHFW) has increased by 82% from Rs.47,353 crore in 2017-18 to ₹86,175 crore in 2023-24. DoHFW is making continuous efforts to increase allocation in health budget. Further, the 15th finance commission has provided Rs.70,051 Crores Grants for health through the local Governments. According to Arora, this amount of 2023-24 is only 1.98% of GDP against a world average of around 7%.
