Healthcare needs Rs 9,00,000 cr by 2012: FICCI

New Delhi, July 22: Faced with a whopping requirement of Rs 9,12,375 crore over the next five years to bridge the huge deficit of access to healthcare services in the country, industry body FICCI has proposed five models for public-private partnership.

These partnership models would have to run in tandem with attractive fiscal incentives and meaningful regulation if 'Health for All' is to be achieved, FICCI said.

In a detailed presentation to the government, FICCI has quantified not just the access deficit but also accented the projected deficiency of human resources in 2012.

In five years from now, there would be a shortage of 4,53,785 doctors, 1, 290,174 nurses and a huge number of paramedics, the presentation said.

The partnership models proposed by FICCI include PPP options for primary and secondary healthcare, a network of diagnostic centres, capex-sharing model, equity-sharing model and premises on lease model.

Under the PPP options for primary and secondary healthcare, Ficci has proposed an O&M model where the state governments hand over management of sub-centres, PHCs, CHCs and district hospitals to private players under lease agreements and another where the Annual Capitation Fee is paid by government for PHC services to the privately-run centre for a defined population in the catchment areas and for the underprivileged.

To attract private sector investment in the healthcare sector, the industry body has underlined for according 'Infrastructure status' to healthcare with benefits such as Tax holiday under section 80IA of Income-tax Act, 1961 for 10 years for building new facilities and upgrading old ones etc.

UNI