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Post Budget Reactions: Budget 2023 Fell Short Of Expectations In The Healthcare Sector

Post Budget Reactions: Budget 2023 Fell Short Of Expectations In The Healthcare Sector

We have received mixed reactions to the Union Budget 2023 from the healthcare industry experts. Following are post budget reactions from some of the top industry experts.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : February 2, 2023 4:23 PM IST

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24, which she christened as Amrit Kaal Budget, in the parliament on Wednesday. For the upcoming financial year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been allocated Rs 89, 155 crores. The department of health and family welfare gets Rs 86,175 crore, and the rest Rs 2,980 crore is allocated to the department of health research. There has been a meagre rise of 12.6 per cent in the health budget this year, compared to last year's budget. In the ongoing fiscal, the ministry received Rs. 86,201 crore budget expenditure, of which Rs 76, 370 was marked for the department of health and family welfare while Rs 2,775 crore for the department of health research.

A mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047, 157 new nursing colleges, a new programme to promote research and innovations in pharmaceuticals, joint public and private research via ICMR labs, were the key takeaways for the health sector.

We have come across mixed reactions to the Union Budget 2023 from the healthcare industry experts. While some say the health allocation fell short of their expectations, others applauded the government's initiatives to strengthen R&D capability in pharma and medical devices.

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Here are somepost budget reactions from the industry experts:

Dr. K Srinath Reddy, the Chairperson of Population Foundation of India:

The announcement on the new initiative to boost research and innovation in health is much needed. The collaboration between ICMR and public and private medical facilities for using ICMR labs for research is a welcome step. As India is a leading manufacturer and exporter of pharmaceutical products, the new initiative will encourage the pharmaceutical industry to further invest in research and innovation in pharmaceuticals. The government will have to ensure that quality of research also goes up to match the international standards and to support new innovations.

Kiran Gadela, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Oasis Fertility:

The Budget 2023 fell short of expectations in the healthcare sector. There was a hope for more initiatives in the healthcare sector like improvement of infrastructure, promotion of medical tourism, tax rebate on greater insurance coverage, etc., but the budget did not cover any of those areas.

On the positive side, boosting the nursing sector by the opening of new colleges and a focus on skilling for the medical devices sector would help the sector. We hope there will be further detailed announcements in terms of focused budget allocation. The opportunity is ripe for India to be positioned as a preferred medical tourism destination. We welcome the improved tax slabs to positively impact entry and mid-level healthcare professionals.

Mr Vikram Vuppala, CEO and Founder, NephroPlus:

The 157 new nursing colleges as part of medical colleges is a welcome move but not a needle mover. At the same time, the budget was highly anticipated and not too optimistic. Even the budget allocation for the healthcare service providers could have been better. Moreover, some long pending infrastructure status has not been given, indicating a clear oversight. On the other side, the health ministry has been allocated INR 89,155 CR, thereby indicating a nominal rise of 12% over the FY23 allocation. Further adjusting this for inflation is not a promising growth on health allocation. To compare, BRICS, excluding India, spend about 6.7% of GDP on healthcare while India spends less than 2%.

Dr Maluk Mohamed, Founder and VP of Global Research, Twin Health:

A well-foresighted budget balancing between what is needed for now and what is essential for the future accommodating the pharmaceutical industry and technology-driven precision treatment. Considering the population of India and all economic conditions of the overall population, the government of India has methodically allocated a decent budget to health care and family welfare with a 10% hike compared with last year's budget with a focus on preventive healthcare, especially on healthcare technology and medical devices. This is a clear indication on the country getting ready in working towards personalised healthcare solutions through digital technology focusing on chronic metabolic diseases by allocating funds for AI medical research and medical devices.

Amrit Singh, Co-Founder and CRO at Loop:

The budget has focused on improving India's R&D capability in pharma and medical devices while increasing vocational training on nursing. In their approach to sickle cell anemia eradication, they have shown a preventive healthcare framework of health education, proactive testing and treatment that should be the cornerstone of all healthcare in India, which is currently only focused on last mile sick care. We hope future Budgets will cater to preventive care.

Kamal Narayan Omer, CEO, IHW Council:

With the Union Budget 2023-24 focusing on accessible, affordable and inclusive health care for all along with emphasis on health infrastructure and better R&D for innovations and developments in healthcare, Budget 2023-24 is going to accelerate India's progression towards SDG's while ensuring that no one is left behind, thus facilitating the building of a Swasth and Ayushman Bharat.

Sameer Merchant, CEO, Illusion Dental Lab & Illusion Aligners:

The Government has shown the right intent to bring a meaningful change in the Indian healthcare sector in this year's budget. The initiatives to strengthen the academic, research and skill ecosystem will have a far-reaching impact on the country. It also shows that the government is responsive to the nation's needs. However, there is a need to give due importance to dental care, especially after Covid and the role it can play in improving the Indian health ecosystem. We were expecting some announcements related to the dental industry as it is one of the fastest-growing industries in India.

Mamta Carroll, Senior Vice President & Regional Director, Asia, Smile Train India:

Over the years, the Government's focus on healthcare has largely been around a Universal Healthcare Model and its access. This year's focus on Capacity Building shows its focus towards another core area at the heart of public health. Announcement of 157 nursing colleges, co-located with medical colleges is a welcome move to ensure integration, cross-functional exposure and impetus to para medical skill building and enhancement.

The government's plans and focus on research and innovation in the healthcare and pharma sector, promises to help make India become a hub for vaccine development, biomedical research and creation of solutions for serious for a variety of health areas.

The health and socio-economic crises triggered by COVID-19 call for increased national collaboration and solidarity to support the most vulnerable populations. This includes large-scale and widespread healthcare issue such as cleft. With more than 35,000 babies born with cleft of the lip or palate, or both every year in India, this is a condition plagued by myths and cultural beliefs. Left untreated, this is a socio-economic problem as much as it is a medical one, with additional vulnerability to infection, malnutrition, low immunity etc. The absence of a national birth registry for recording birth anomalies, including clefts, in India means that many families do not receive the specialized counselling and care that is critical for babies with clefts. Government's enhanced commitment and policy interventions through the National Health Mission, is an urgent need.

Dr Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai:

We are delighted to note that the budget session was introduced with the announcement of increase in allocation for Research in the healthcare sector including Pharma, Clinical Research and Public-Private partnership in Healthcare Research. The government's initiatives to encourage Research and Development in Healthcare is a much-needed move. The collaborative set up of Research and Innovation Centre and the facilities in select ICMR Labs made available for research by public and private medical college faculty and private sector is commendable. Setting-up of more nursing colleges is a welcome move to generate adequate Nursing workforce every year. Introduction of courses for medical devices will fill a significant gap in the industry.

Poonam Muttreja, the Executive Director of Population Foundation of India:

The finance minister announced the setting up of 157 new nursing colleges and a mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047, which is a welcome step. However, rural development and an overall focus on health were low on priority in the budget 2023, with greater focus on defense and infrastructural investments.

Dr. Sunil Rao, CEO, Dr. D.Y. Patil Hospital & Research Centre:

The Union Budget 2023-2024 allotted 2.1 per cent of GDP to the health sector in FY23 against 1.4 per cent in FY19. "The announcement of Union Budget 2023-2024, AMRITKAL-Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has been encouraging. There is a big push for an ambitious target to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047. 7 crore people between the ages of 0-40 will be examined in the affected tribal areas. Programs like these can be a path-breaking model for future programs to address other ailments like curable blindness. The program also laid the importance of the 'millet grain' and gave a boost to the potential of the grain which has been highly recommended by medical professionals, to reduce the endangering epidemic of Diabetes in the nation. The unique program of PM-Pranam (Programme for Restoration Awareness Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth), will further the initiative of nutrition, which will be receiving significant attention for the first time."

Dr Sundeep Jain, GI & HPB Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Jaipur and Founder of Abdominal Cancer Trust:

Amid shortage of nursing staff at healthcare facilities, the initiative to start new nursing colleges across 157 medical colleges is a welcome step that will improve the work-life balance of the existing nursing staff. Ideally, a nurse should cater to six beds but there are instances when they end up looking at 20 beds or more at times impacting the quality of patient care they can offer.

Moreover, beyond patient care, these colleges must also provide skilled training towards patient navigation particularly for cancer patients for addressing the diverse needs in the complex, multi-step medical system. The curriculum for nurses should be such that they are able to navigate the modern day oncology patients among others seamlessly through diagnosis, treatment, cure, survival; and serve special needs of palliation.

Aman Puri, Founder, Steadfast Nutrition, premium sports nutrition brand:

India, known as the world's pharmacy, is known for its affordable generic drugs. However, research and development have always needed attention- the government has announced measures to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals in the 2023 budget. It will also encourage the industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas. The boost to research and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry is commendable and will further strengthen India's position as one of the world's leading drug suppliers. However, the relaxation in importing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) should have been allowed since the imports of these raw materials for medicines, also known as bulk drugs, are necessitated to control raw material costs due to the caps on drug prices.

The government has not paid attention to the nutraceutical industry despite the sector playing an increasing role in healthcare. The sector would have welcomed a relaxation in imports of nutraceutical raw materials and ingredients because quality remains a challenge. There is no reduction in tax on supplements to make them more affordable and accessible to everyone- currently, they are subject to 18 per cent GST, which is the second-highest tax rate.

The allocation to healthcare is still low at 2.1 per cent of the GDP despite recommendations by National Health Policy 2017, the Economic Survey 2021, and experts to increase it to 2.5-3 per cent. The world average is 6 per cent.

Krishna Veer Singh Co-Founder and CEO, Lissun (A Mental Wellness Startup):

It was evident during the lockdown that mental health has remained an ignored area and demands immediate attention. In the last budget, Hon'ble FM announced the launch of a Tele Mental Health service. This year, the budget has encompassed the needs of healthcare professionals by announcing 157 new nursing colleges. All this together will serve the purpose of adding fuel to the healthcare infrastructure, and it is the only way it will make complete sense. Also, there has been a significant increase in the budget allocation towards the Healthcare Ministry which indicates the government's attention toward health standards in the country.

Mr. Aniruddha Sen, Co-Founder of Kenko Health:

While we appreciate the allocation increase in schemes like PMSSY and PMABHIM, the Union budget for 2022-23 could have gone beyond infrastructure and addressed the critical problems of human resource shortages, access to primary care, and health insurance coverage in rural India and tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Studies suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to impact the health of our citizens and strain our health infrastructure in the long run.

Designating healthcare as a national priority sector and categorising it similarly to agriculture will give banks more freedom to lend to private healthcare organisations for longer terms and at lower interest rates. This, combined with tax incentives, will encourage the private sector to take on a more prominent role in strengthening healthcare access across India.

In conclusion, we would like to say that while we appreciate the reforms introduced in this year's budget, it would have been encouraging to have the government's measures aligned more closely with our expectations. The healthcare sector requires significant investment and attention to ensure the well-being of our citizens. We are positive that the government will take this into consideration in the near future.