Right to Health

Right to Health: Three decades after the Supreme Court recognised right to health and medical care as a fundamental right under Article 21.

• About: India still faces challenges in ensuring this right, particularly for rare disease patients.

o Though Article 41 of the DPSPs mandates public assistance in cases of sickness, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoHFW) implementation of the National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD) 2021 and its funding constraints have come under judicial and public scrutiny.

• About National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD): Currently, 63 rare diseases are included under NPRD on the recommendation of the Central Technical Committee for Rare Diseases (CTCRD).
• Features of NPRD: Rare diseases under NPRD are categorized into three groups: Group 1 - Disorders amenable to one-time curative treatment → Group 2 - Diseases requiring long-term/lifelong treatment with relatively lower cost of treatment → Group 3 - Diseases for which definitive treatment is available, but challenges exist in optimal patient selection, very high cost, and lifelong therapy.
• About Right to Health: Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to health and medical care as a fundamental right.

o Article 41 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) mandates public assistance in cases of sickness and disablement.

• About Rajasthan Right to Health (RTH) Act, 2022: It gives every resident of Rajasthan the right to free OPD and IPD services at all public health facilities and select private ones.

o All residents are entitled to emergency treatment and care without prepayment of any fee.

o Hospitals cannot delay treatment for medico-legal cases due to pending police clearance.

o After emergency care and stabilisation, if the patient does not pay charges, the provider will get reimbursement from the state government.