Post Budget Quote 2018 – Dr.Prem Nair, Medical Director, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala

“This is a comparatively much better budget for healthcare delivery system of the country. The initiative on the Universal Health Care is commendable. This will surely be one of the world’s largest healthcare program that proposes to cover 10 crore vulnerable families, with approximately 50 crore beneficiaries. The scheme for creation of 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness centres, which are intended to provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services, will definitely make healthcare much more accessible to the people. However, no allocation has been made in the Budget for Private Public Partnership or even engaging private healthcare organisations in healthcare delivery by the government.”