Demanding more sops for specialty hospitals in the state, the Andhra Pradesh Specialty Hospital Association (ASHA) has asked the state government to hike the Arogyasri tariffs and also exempt them from various taxes such as value added tax, service tax and luxury tax because of which the medical and healthcare costs are escalating and becoming burdensome to the poor and middle class families.

There are more than 100 super specialty hospitals across Andhra Pradesh. With a view to provide corporate level quality healthcare facilities to the poor and middle class families, the Andhra Pradesh government had instituted the Arogyasri health insurance scheme and had aligned the scheme with some select specialty hospitals for providing quality healthcare to the poor. In return to the healthcare services rendered to the poor patients by the corporate hospitals, the state government refunds the entire treatment cost as prescribed under the Arogyasri scheme for various medical procedures. In the initial days it was really a boon for the corporate hospitals which earned them huge profits.

But of late, the corporate hospitals are billing excess to the tariffs prescribed in the Arogyasri scheme and asking the poor patients to bear the reaming expenses which is not refunded under the scheme.

According to Bhasker Rao, president of ASHA, due to rising expenses of building construction, induction of modern treatment facilities and increased workforce salaries, it is becoming burdensome for the hospital managements to treat Arogyasri patients. “Unless and until the government rises the Arogyasri tariff and provides us with tax holiday packages and exempts the healthcare industry from service tax and luxury tax, it is difficult for the hospitals to survive for long. Already we are bearing 15 per cent cost as part of our CSR (Corporate Social responsibility) activities. We want the government to come out with some encouraging steps and help the healthcare industry from further bleeding,” said Rao.

Giving insights into the rising costs of present healthcare industry, the association members opined that minimum investment in a super specialty hospital has gone up to 40-65 lakhs per bed. There is a tremendous shortage of manpower at all levels. Today the country is facing a shortage of six lakh doctors and about 64 Lakhs paramedical staff. Andhra Pradesh alone has a shortage of 4.5 lakh shortage of healthcare professionals in the state. In the past five years investment in the technology advancement of diagnostic procedures, investment in ICU / OT and patient care have increased by almost 100 per cent.

There is tremendous need for investment, in infrastructure and process, for accreditation by quality bodies as also by regulatory necessities. Fire safety norms, the infection issues, and the waste management issues have also become important obligations which cannot be ignored. Despite all this, the status of investment by the government in preventive care has not kept pace at all. India has just 1.4 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) as investment in healthcare, wherein in other foreign countries the investment in healthcare has crossed more than three per cent.

In view of escalating medical costs, the association expressed concern that if the government does not come forward to protect healthcare industry then definitely it affects the quality and in the long run it will kill the industry.