Needed, a transfusion for public health care

The Hindu     11th June 2020     Save    
QEP Pocket Notes

Context: Although private healthcare was always marred with exorbitant costs, its effect during the pandemic has attracted the focus towards the importance of a robust public healthcare system. 

Reasons for the rise of private healthcare:

  • lack of adequate public health care: 
  • Lack of specialized care: Focussed on primary healthcare at the peripheral level, preventive care, immunization dealing with common infections but lacked hospital beds and specialised facilities.
  • Burgeoning middle class: Private sector capitalized on the rising demand for quality health care due to an increase in wealth.
  • Lack of adequate investment: Indian government spends only 1.3% of GDP on public health care.

Limitation of Private Medicine:

  • Lacking uniformity: 
  • The lower spectrum of private healthcare is unpredictable due to the presence of unqualified medical practitioners.
  • This spectrum serves 70% of the people (most vulnerable bottom) whose wealth is just 25% of the combined wealth of the top 1% wealthy population. 
    • Follows law of diminishing returns: as the treatment gets more sophisticated, further increments, although small, cost enormously more.
  • More private hospitals do not necessarily lead to better health outcomes:
  • The US spends 15% of its GDP on health care in the form of large insurance based private medicine but has poorer healthcare indices than Europe.

Way forward:

  • Higher government spending : The National Health Service of the UK acts as an example of a state of the art healthcare with low per capita expense than the US.
  • Appropriate spending: Based on evidence and outcomes; training of doctors and nurses; election of doctors according to results.
  • Regulating:Costing and auditing of care and procedures are necessary to ensure appropriate care and the right cost. Capping the cost may lessen the burden.
  • Social responsibility: to provide care in times of need.
  • Be aware of the actual cost: forcing a cap to a medical procedure might lead to losses and closure of hospitals which would hardly benefit anyone.
QEP Pocket Notes