Healthcare system hanging on hospital insurance without foundation of primary care is unsustainable

Notwithstanding the divergent approaches of the BJP and the Congress to health system development, there is room for ensuring that the elected government adopts a balanced approach based on evidence and sets pathways that will help build, in the long term, a sustainable, equitable and affordable health system.

india healthcare, modicare, health insurance, health insurance in india, bjp health insurance scheme, congress health insurance scheme, us medicare, europe medicare, europe healthcare system — In the absence of a commensurate increase in health budgets, the price will be paid by the large swathes of the poor and middle classes who desperately need good quality primary healthcare. (Representational Image)

The forthcoming election is going to be an inflexion point for India’s health system story — how affordable, how accessible, how equal? Though health is not a political priority as yet, two visions of the future health policy seem to be clearly emerging. One, espoused by the BJP — a centralised hospital insurance-driven health system designed on the Medicare model of the US. The other, of the Congress, calling for guaranteeing every citizen with access to essential health services, resembling the UK and the European model. Both these approaches are widely divergent and will profoundly impact the three pillars of the health system — access, quality and affordability.