IMA to engage with political leaders to put forth doctors’ demands for coming elections

IMA demands political leaders address healthcare issues, protect medical staff, reduce GST, and increase funding for health sector.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) will engage with political leaders to put across its communities’ demands for the upcoming election, with the doctors demanding that the Centre help them maintain the “purity of modern medicine, bring in strict measures to protect medical staff while on duty, reduce GST burden on healthcare products and insurance, and exempt small and medium hospitals up to 50 beds and clinics from the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010.’’

The IMA has released its charter of demands and has asked local branches to engage with political leaders to “educate them about the needs of the community,’’ said its national president R.V. Asokan.

Dr. Asokan said it was vital that political leaders coming to power be made aware of the issues and expectations of the community.

The association has demanded that the attempts to integrate various systems of medicine be stopped in the best interests of people.

It said the COVID pandemic had exposed the vulnerability of the healthcare system and had also brought to fore the paucity of professionalism in health management right from the sub-district office level.

“As such, this mandates an acute need for change in the health administration of the country. The IMA has proposed to the government to revive the Indian Medical Services discontinued in 1948,’’ said the association, while advocating to discontinue the practice of ad hoc and contract hiring of doctors in National Health Missions and Central ministries.

Stating that India’s health system is overwhelmingly financed by out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures incurred by households, the association noted that the funding, provided by both the Central and State governments, currently constitutes approximately one-third of all health spending, with States accounting for nearly two-thirds of total government health expenditure.