Healthcare industry expects increasing budget allocation for National Mental Health Program in Union Budget 2022

The health care industry expects to increase budget allocation for the National Mental Health Program (NMHP) and trauma centers at Primary Health Centers (PHC) and Community Health Centers (CHC) in the Union Budget 2022-23, as trauma systems generate high financial costs.

According to Dr. Prakriti Poddar, Trustee of the Poddar Foundation, “India’s mental health system had several gaps even before the pandemic, and the situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak. In the latest budget, i.e. Union budget 2021-22, the budget for the NMHP remained the same as last year – Rs 40 crore. Proposing just Rs 40 crore for NMHP will leave the country unprepared and unable to cope with the requirements of the population, especially with the growing mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“This is not just about increasing budgets, unless it is accompanied by a commitment to mental health at the grassroots level. The government should establish counseling centers, push for aggressive health promotion campaigns that encourage people to consult with psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as invest in community health doctors and public health professionals to strengthen mental health epidemiology and commitment to preventive care. The government should also establish bodies that recognize community organizations and NGOs working in the field of mental health and provide them with funds so that they can continue their work,” added Dr. Poddar.

Debajit Sensharma, Group CFO, Paras Healthcare, said: “The government should consider increasing healthcare spending above 2.5% of GDP and extending the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) to all workers. migrants, in addition to the BPL population. The need of the moment is to improve healthcare financing with subsidized loans, incentivize investment in CSR by making it a tax-deductible expense, and allocate land for new hospitals.”

“Our country has the youngest workforce, but with fertility rates falling and mutations rising, there will be a huge increase in health care spending over the next two decades. The incidence of lifestyle-related diseases doubles every 10 years. It is therefore imperative that the government undertake genome mapping, which will help collect much-needed data to discover cures for complex conditions. To achieve the same, the government should promote public-private partnerships for genome mapping projects. Another important aspect for the government to consider is including all life-saving drugs in the generic category and providing tax breaks on these drugs. However, adequate funding for the health sector needs to be provided at this time as it will have a substantial impact on the entire economy,” added Debajit.

“The health sector should be the focus of this year’s budget. In the budget, more funds should be allocated to spending on health. Incentives should be provided to the private sector so that they can establish Covid Care Centers. A Medical Innovation Fund should be created to provide capital to companies promoting digital healthcare infrastructure. Many startups are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to provide detailed reports to patients about medical conditions. India is also a popular medical tourism destination due to the availability of skilled manpower. Therefore, the government should ease visa restrictions and create more green corridors to promote medical tourism.” said Dr. Ankit Gupta, Managing Director, Park Group of Hospitals.

“In the shadow of the pandemic and the ongoing battle against the virus, the budget must focus on the following areas: First, health care spending as a proportion of GDP must be increased to at least 2.5%, if not more. Second, in view of the increasing frequency of infectious diseases, the government should allocate sufficient resources for genetic and genomic research, in addition to epidemiological studies, in addition to increasing allocations for general health care-related R&D. Third, the budget should also allow for more investment in infrastructure construction in terms of more intensive care and ICU facilities and diagnostic laboratories along with outpatient and home care. Fourth, smaller cities and the hinterland should also get enough public and private health infrastructure. Consequently, the private sector should be encouraged by the availability of easy and cheap loans, tax breaks, and other financial and policy support through this budget. Fifth, a similar stimulus should also be extended to the pharmaceutical and medical device sector. Sixth, the budget should also allocate funds to increase infrastructure for medical education and training with a view to raising the quality and quantity of our healthcare workforce,” said Praveen Sikri, CEO of Ikris Pharma Network.