The National Health Profile 2015 reveals the appalling state of health care in India. India has a population of 1.26 billion but it has only 20,306 hospitals and 675000 beds. Not even 1/3 of them are in villages where 70% of the population lives. True, state-funded hospitals are coming up but these are not keeping pace with the population growth. Across India, there is only one government hospital bed for 1833 people. All this is due to the distorted view of policy makers who think that health spending is a dole. The government spends but does not get returns, which makes it a non-productive form of expenditure. India’s health spending as a percentage of GDP is less than in some of the poorest countries of the world. Total investment in health care in India was 4.1% of GDP in 2012. The Indian government spent just a little over 1.16%. It is 2.9% in China and 4.1 % in Brazil. States in India provide as much as 67% of health care expenditure. That accentuates the disparity between developing and underdeveloped states in India. UP has one government hospital for 250,000 people. Kerala has on the other hand a hospital for 27500 people. It is a disincentive to the private sector which provides 80% of outpatient and 60% of impatient care. The requirement will double by 2022.
The stress should be on improved access, affordability and quality of health care. The government cannot do it by itself. Adding hospitals and beds is not enough. The regulatory system to enforce quality control and ensure affordability has to be strengthened. That alone can enable people to reach out to Medicare centres which are nearby and inexpensive.