Health reform in offing: Narendra Modi Govt pledges for Health insurance to all

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always cared for poor and deprived section of the society and that he has proved time and again. Best example of his golden heart came to fore recently where Modi proved Messiah for a poor Nepali boy. Prime Minister had been supporting this boy named Jit Bahadur continuously for twelve years. Modi government also rejected WTO's Trade facilitation agreement, keeping in mind the larger interest of poor of the country.

Health insurance to all
Going with the legacy of pro-people policy, the new dispensation is contemplating to provide health insurance to all and regarding this, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting on health reforms this week. According to a Hindustan Times report, in the meeting the Government will discuss a range of issues including a roadmap of providing health insurance to every section of the society and establishing medical colleges in each district.

Three-year BSc course in community health which couldn't be started in previous regime (UPA) due to vociferous protest by Medical Council of India is also in the offing.

The idea is, with the nominal charge the Health security will cover a range of diseases like diabetes, cardiac and cancer. "To provide a basic minimum health insurance cover to all is the aim. The rate of the premium for the middle class could be dependent on one's income. But for the poor it would be very nominal," a government official said to HT.

What ails Health sector?
India's health is in ICU and reason being is insufficient availability of doctor per person in the country. According to Health Ministry report, there is just one doctor per 2000 people in India, which is alarming. In addition to this, there is acute shortage of 64 lakh skilled human resource in the sector.

The DNA report says, the physician density of India per 10,000 populations stands poorly at 6.5 against a global average of 14.2. The worst indicator of healthcare in India comes with the density of hospital beds per 10,000 populations, which stands at nine against a global average of 30. Another problem is that doctors don't want to serve rural India. They are very averse about their posting in countryside areas. Alarmingly, study says that maximum doctors in urban India are without the MBBS disagrees.

Health reform- Modi's agenda
Health reform is the part of 17-point people-oriented agenda of Modi Government. The agenda said, "Health reforms to involve deployment of male community health workers, setting up of health knowledge institutes in all districts and these will also function in coordination with upgraded district hospitals, plus a three-year B.Sc course in community health".

The Modi Government recently had announced that more medical colleges on the line of Delhi's AIIMS will be established in other States. Even Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has reiterated about Health reform many a time in recent past.