Modicare marks lofty goal
NEW DELHI: India has allocated $US1.54 billion ($NZ2.13 billion) for its ambitious health programme aimed at providing insurance cover for about half the population, the health minister said yesterday, labelling it the largest such scheme in the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has dubbed the scheme ‘‘Modicare’’, announced in February the programme would provide 100 million families, or about 500 million poor people, with health cover of 500,000 rupees ($NZ10,600) per year for treatment of serious ailments.
The federal budget had made an allocation of 20 billion rupees for the scheme for 201819, but officials had said more funds would be made available as the programme was rolled out.
Health Ministry officials said the Government has allocated 100 billion rupees for the ‘‘National Health Protection Mission’’ for 201819 and 201920.
‘‘It’s a historic step and a bold decision. It will be the largest publicfunded health protection scheme in the world,’’ Health Minister J. P. Nadda said at a news briefing.
The measures are Modi’s latest attempt to reform a public health system that faces a shortage of hospitals and doctors. The Government has also in recent years capped prices of critical drugs and medical devices and increased health funding.
Still, India spends only about 1% of its GDP on public health, among the world’s lowest, and the health ministry estimates such funding leads to ‘‘catastrophic’’ expenses that push 7% of the population into poverty each year. — Reuters