No Respite for Public Health
T Sundararaman, Indranil Mukhopadhyay, V R Muraleedharan
Economic and Political Weekly EPW
Health allocations in Budget 2016–17, which show a modest increase in nominal terms, must be viewed against the virtual stagnation of allocations since 2010–11, and the major cuts of 2015–16. Meanwhile, state governments’ investments in
health grew steadily. The centre has only prioritized initiatives that stimulate private health sector growth. This approach will have immediate adverse effects on availability and quality of public health services and will cause impoverishment due to healthcare costs, compromising economic growth in the long run.