In a plea to the faculty and students of the prestigious AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian President Pranab Mukherjeedrew attention to the healthcare emergency India faces -- as 80 percent ofcosts are paid out-of-pocket and healthcare debts plunge 40 million Indiansinto poverty every year.
“I am deeply concerned about the impoverishing impact ofhealth and medical expenses on the vulnerable sections of our society,” thePresident said, addressing the institute's 40th Annual Convocation of AIIMS.
As I wrote some years ago, AIIMS is a remarkable institution-- providing care free or virtually free to huge numbers of Indians from allwalks of life.
In 2005, “the government-run hospital, with about 2,000beds, treated 3.5 million people, achieving mortality and infection ratescomparable to the best facilities in the developed world--for fees that come toabout $1 a day for inpatients,” the article written by the President reported.“AIIMS can do this because of government funding of about $100 million ayear.... [and because] senior residents at AIIMS make about $400 a month.”
The problem is that the institution is essentially unique inIndia, which has adopted a disastrous go-slow policy when it comes toincreasing the budget for health care, regardless of the concern of Mukherjee(who was finance minister before he was nominated to the figurehead post ofpresident).
And, as in many other facets of Indian life, India seems tobe heading down a disastrous path -- banking on private industry to fill the gaps,though the ability of patients to pay is very limited, and hoping that aUS-style health insurance system will ensure that everybody can get treatment.
