Open more private hospitals in next five years, make healthcare a fundamental right: GOI Panel

A high-level panel on reforms in the health sector has come up with radical suggestions like shifting healthcare from the state list to the concurrent list in the Constitution, opening over 3,000-5,000 small private hospitals in the next five years, and declaring the Right to Health as a fundamental right on the 75th Independence day next year. The Committee recommended that the number of MBBS and PG seats in the country be made equal by 2025. The panel also suggested hiking allocation for healthcare to 2.5% of the GDP, adding both Central and state governments should be nudged to increase spending on the sector. States should earmark at least 2% of their health budget for health research activities, the panel said in its 120-page report. It also recommended that in the next five years, 3,000-5,000 hospitals of 200 beds each may be created with private sector participation. Many of the recommendations, however, evoked sharp reactions from public health experts. “A Committee comprising two members who represent corporate hospitals is sure to suggest more privatisation. It’s clearly a matter of conflict of interest,” said public health researcher Sunil Nandraj who has been an advisor to the Union health ministry in the past.