Medical policy needs vision

The move that tourists should be barred from availing free medical treatment in UK is not justified.

Today the world has become small place and this is particularly true for the great Indian Diaspora, which has a current estimated population of two million Indians residing in other countries. While earlier, the trend was for the NRI to visit his motherland, today this scenario has undergone a sea change. The growing affluence of the Indian middle class and the falling aviation prices have encouraged many a person to venture out on a tourist visa. Unfortunately, the resultant efflux from India has been a matter of some controversy of late.

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There is a high index of suspicion in many European countries that many NRIs connive in such a way that their sick relations visit them in UK on the pretext of tourism and then avail free medical treatment from the government hospitals. Of late, there has been a move that tourists should be barred from availing free medical treatment in UK. This type of discrimination is not justified and in fact, fears of this kind may even be baseless.

As far as medical facilities are concerned, there is no denying that today India is in an enviable position. Gone are the days when people had to rush abroad for a bypass or knee replacement surgery. Not only is medical care available in India, it is affordable as well. A treatment which may cause $20,000 in US may cause only $3000 in India.

Banking on the high quality of medical care and its affordability, the Government of India is busy promoting schemes by which even non-resident foreign nationals are encouraged to avail treatment in India. Not only is the cost of treatment in India much lesser but is also preferred for the humane care, compassion and spirituality that is so much part and parcel of the Indian culture and tradition.

In such a scenario, it seems unlikely that a patient should fake his illness and go to UK for further treatment, when the same and indeed much more, could be available back home.

A similar issue was raised a few years ago in the US, when Indians were reportedly going to America without declaring their illness to the insurance company and then pretending to become sick after reaching US and claiming medical expenses. The accusations did not really stand the test of time as it soon became evident that the number of such incidences were negligible compared to the number of tourists visiting US or any other part of the world.

This is a classic case of a few rotten apples spoiling the entire crate. Just because there are a few unscrupulous people in the world does not mean all the residents of this planet are bad. No doubt more stringent checks should be in place to detect and punish such cheats but on the other hand, the situation does not justify withholding the benefit of quality medical care for those who are deserving and genuinely ill.

(Dr. Aggarwal is Sr. Consultant in Mool Chand Hospital, Executive Vice Chairman, Heart Care Foundation of India and President, IMA New Delhi Branch.)