HYDERABAD: Historic allocation of Rs 11,237 crore for the health sector was seen in the Budget announced on Monday. In the last Budget, Rs 5,816 crore was allotted, marking a hike of Rs 5,421 crore in the current year. The allocations to the health sector now account for 4.3 per cent of the total.
This is also the highest ever allocation for the Health Department since the formation of Telangana. A detailed analysis of the Budget document shows that the majority of the allocation is for the construction of new hospitals. Nearly Rs 2,500 crore is dedicated for the same, and Rs 1,000 crore each for the establishment of teaching colleges and super-speciality hospitals.
A total of Rs 1,377 crore is allocated to run and maintain the hospitals. Of the total, Rs 300 crore has been allotted for diagnostics, Rs 500 crore for equipment and Rs 200 crore for surgical and Rs 377 crore for medicines.
‘CM envisions medical colleges in every district’
“Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided that all the districts of the State will have government medical colleges. These would be established over the next two years. This calendar year, we are going to start eight new medical colleges at Kumurambheem Asifabad, Bhupalpally, Vikarabad, Rajanna-Sircilla, Jangaon, Kamareddy, Karimnagar and Khammam,” announced Harish Rao, Finance and Health Minister.
He added that in 2023, another eight medical colleges in Medak, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Rangareddy, Mulugu, Warangal, Narayanpet, Gadwal and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts would come up. Over and above these, eight colleges have already been sanctioned at Mancherial, Ramagundam, Jagtial, Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Mahbubabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Sangareddy and they are to start functioning next year, Harish said.
Health community welcomes Budget
The Budget has elicited a positive response largely from the health community. “It is a welcome Budget with the government showing intention to spend on health. The per capita expenditure by the government on health will surely rise with this. However, the State government must also work on reducing the out-of-pocket expenditure citizens of Telangana incur on health.
The government must however focus that as medical colleges increase, not only MBBS seats increase, but also PG and super-speciality seats increase, otherwise there would be more competition for few PG seats, rendering many in a tough citation,” said Dr MSS Mukharjee, a Hyderabad-based senior interventional cardiologist. Some experts also note that the Budget focuses more on primary health care as well and not on improving conditions of PHCs and CHCs and increasing their numbers.
“The State government had previously stated that each medical college can cost upto Rs 425 crore and super-speciality hospital can cost Rs 1,000 crore. Then how has the government promised so many colleges and hospitals for half the cost? This appears to be a political move and not to actually improve healthcare in the given timeframe,” opined Dr Mahesh Kumar, Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association. He also expressed concerns that adding more medical seats could lead to more doctors than required in Telangana, which could lead to unemployment.
Aarogyasri ceiling enhanced, diet charges increased
The government has increased the Aarogyasri reimbursement limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for routine procedures and up to Rs 10 lakh for transplants. It has allocated Rs 605 crore for the same, falling from the Rs 720 crore in 2021-22. The diet charges for cancer and TB patients was increased from Rs 56 to Rs 112 and Rs 40 to Rs 80 for others
2K beds for NIMS, spl focus on primary health in urban areas
Finance Minister Harish Rao announced 2,000 beds at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science, taking the total number of beds to 3,489 in the hospital. “This year 94 Basti Dawakhanas will be set up in the rest of the municipalities in the HMDA limits and another 60 such centres will be planned in other ULBs across State,” Harish said
KCR nutrition kits for anaemic mothers in 9 rural districts
The government has decided to tackle anaemia by launching KCR Nutrition kits. These kits will be given to adolescent girls, lactating mothers, pregnant women in nine rural districts. While the allocation to the WCD Department increased from Rs 1,632 crore to 1,967 crores, allotments to key schemes have seen a decline