Desire to provide equitable healthcare will reinforce to voters that they matter to politicians | The Indian Express

Desire to provide equitable healthcare will reinforce to voters that they matter to politicians | The Indian Express

Written by Ravikumar Chockalingam, C Raj Kumar |Updated: April 30, 2019 10:25:39 am

Ravikumar is a public health scholar and a psychiatrist at Veteran Affairs Medical Center, St Louis, USA.

Raj Kumar is founding vice chancellor, O P Jindal Global University

Desire to provide equitable healthcare will reinforce to voters that they matter to politicians

Equity in healthcare will unequivocally impact everyone, most of all the ones who are at risk of diving deeper into poverty from a catastrophic illness.

A country ranked 112/164 in per capita income must be cognisant of such disparities and health expenditures that push individuals and families, some in middle and upper middle class, deeper into poverty.(Illustration: CR Sasikumar)

As THE COUNTRY VOTES for a new government, equitable and accessible healthcare is being talked about. The next big promise of healthcare for the poor is pitched to be the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). The proposed plan, while facilitating access to a subset of the population, will cost roughly $1.7 billion. However, the PMJAY, which promises health through insurance for millions of vulnerable Indians, will do little to strengthen our public sector while redirecting spending to the unregulated private sector. As the decibel level from the campaign soars, it is time to place comprehensive healthcare reform on the agenda for change. With only weeks left for voting to conclude, it is critical to understand the role of healthcare in alleviating poverty and improving human development.