![Fund allocated for Health Ministry low, says Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu](https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/wupp4y/article68502444.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/20240806087L.jpg)
Fund allocated for Health Ministry low, says Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu
The Hindu
MP Kanimozhi criticizes low budget allocation for health ministry, urges withdrawal of GST on medical insurance and equipment.
Allocating ₹90,958.63 crore for the Union Health Ministry in the 2024-2025 budget was too low for a country with a huge population of 140 crore, Member of Parliament Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Dr. Kanimozhi said that a “paltry” amount of ₹3,301 crore was allotted for the health research department, and questioned what scientific officers in the Indian Council of Medical Research and its research wings would do with such meagre allocation. Allocation of ₹36,000 crore for National Health Mission was also inadequate for the implementation of healthcare schemes in the country. As for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the allocation of ₹7,300 crore was too low for the scheme to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and its underlying commitment -- “leave no one behind”.
On medical insurance, she said that there was a big difference in the cost of surgeries between government hospitals and empanelled private hospitals. The Union government should form a cost evaluation committee to fix the optimum cost of surgeries and maximum entitled amount that insurance companies provided to empanelled hospitals for performing surgeries. Otherwise, insurance companies rejected the amount claimed by the hospitals, she added.
WITHDRAW GST
She also urged the Union government to withdraw GST on medical insurance and all lifesaving medicines, operation theatre and laboratory equipment. It would be an uphill task for private hospitals to survive due to the wrong policies and taxation by the Union government. Operating and managing a hospital equipped with medical and laboratory equipment, operation theatre, intensive care unit, 20-25 beds with 10 to 20 doctors, 40 nurses, paramedical staff, administrative and hospital management team and rent was not an easy job. GST was levied at the rate of 18% to 28% on all these services.
She urged the government to suggest to the GST council to include zero GST for all important medical and laboratory equipment and medicines as an agenda to be passed by the council, and to make suitable amendments to the GST Act.