Impact of the Union Budget 2018 on Health Insurance Sector

Each year, the Budget is one of the most anticipated announcements made by the Government as this affects each and every citizen of the country and most of the sectors in the economy. Budget 2018 impact on healthcare industry is going to be massive with some major reforms announced. This year when the finance minister presented the budget in the parliament, a programme called, “Ayushman Bharat” was announced. The programme, popularly called Modicare, will be launched on 15th August or 2nd October 2018. has increased the insurance cover that is given to the poor families and will bring about improvements in the infrastructure of the primary healthcare sector.

The main proposals for the healthcare sector are:

• The focus will be on a complete social security plan
• Rs. 5 lakh cover announced for 10 crore families under the national health protection scheme
• Rs. 600 crores have also been allocated to provide proper nutrition to TB patients at the rate of Rs.500 a month
• Comprehensive healthcare facilities to be provided to patients under Ayushman Bharat with more emphasis on child care and maternal care
• New government colleges to be set up

The new announcements in the Budget 2018 will for sure bring in an increase in both discretionary and mandatory healthcare spends done by individuals in the country. This is because of the fact that the government has launched a healthcare plan at a massive scale and for senior citizens it has increased the deduction under section 80(D) for health insurance. With these changes the private players in the healthcare sector will see a boost in their revenues as it is expected that patients will opt for better facilities.

The government has planned to set up 24 government colleges and hospitals so that the medical facilities and education become more accessible to the masses. There are plans to improve the district hospitals and upgrade the facilities offered by them. The main aim behind these moves by the government is to increase the beds available to patients and work on the lack of medical talent that is there in the country considering we are one of the largest populations in the world. Medical colleges will be set up in a manner that between three parliamentary constituencies there will be one medical college and each state has a medical college run by the government.

The budget 2018 announced by ArunJaitley also talks about bringing healthcare closer to home by creating wellness and health centres. 1.5 lakh such centres will be established and a budget of Rs. 1200 crores has been allocated. These centres will provide diagnostic services and drugs at no cost to the patients. All these moves are being done to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas which is predominant in the healthcare sector.

The announcements made by the Government will definitely improve the penetration of health insurance in the economy as the rural areas were not covered till now. The budget policies if implemented in the right manner will make healthcare more accessible and affordable for the population. The government has launched the biggest healthcare schemes in the world and this will cover more than 40% of the population of the country.

The government has addressed a very critical problem of our economy in the budget and the healthcare schemes announced in it. When 10 crore families will get a benefit of Rs. 5 lakh per year for secondary and tertiary expenses incurred in the hospitals, the poor population of the country will get access to world class medical facilities which they had no access to. This also means that there will be a massive impact on the health insurance premiums for the government as this will involve spending Rs. 1.2 lakh crores as premiums.

The Government has launched great initiatives in the healthcare sector; if they are implemented in the right and efficient way, they will bring about a lot of change in the economy.

Choose wisely!

Also read: Best Health Insurance Company in India as Per Claim Settlement November 2022

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