Medical device and the healthcare sector are hoping that the Union government will further widen the ambit of products under the 7.5 per cent import duty which was announced last month.

The aforesaid exemption is recommended to cover a list of critical care products and should be enlarged to include patient monitoring systems, image guidance systems, pacemakers, leads for cardiac therapy, external defibrillators, ENT surgery products, deep brain stimulation implanters, drug pumps, leads used in neuro surgery, heart lung machine and oxygenators used in vascular therapies, respirators, and dialysis machines equipment. Currently, lifesaving medical equipment are levied 5 per cent basic customs duty, said Sudhir Pai, executive director and CEO, Vikram Hospital, Bengaluru.

Increase in import duty is detrimental to the healthcare sector because it is an impediment to provide quality patient care as 70 per cent of the medical devices are imported. “Reduction in import duty on medical devices would reduce the overall treatment cost. But we are also keen to seen an increase in healthcare spending from 1.3 per cent to 5 per cent of the GDP,” said Varun Khanna - managing director, Becton Dickinson India & South Asia.

“The healthcare industry in general along with Philips feels that creating tariff barriers will not help indigenous manufacturing. Instead, it would lead to a hike in prices of medical devices, which contributes significantly to healthcare costs for patients,” V Raja, vice-chairman and managing director, Philips India.

“As a manufacturer and importer for medical devices, we believe government must improve regulatory and product registration process, to make the process hassle free and transparent,” said Hisao Masuda, MD, Omron Healthcare India.

India accounts for 20 per cent of the global disease burden, but lacks proper healthcare infrastructure. An aging population, presents a huge opportunity for pharmaceutical and healthcare players to invest in tier-II and tier-III cities. There is a pressing need to build and upgrade healthcare infrastructure and services, hence the government must initiate and invest in PPP models, said Masuda.

The government needs to expand and institutionalize health insurance to ensure that those accessing public healthcare facilities can avail services free of cost beyond those offered under the national health programmes associated with communicable diseases. There is also need to strengthen the government healthcare centres and ensure surveillance on its spends. This calls for a governance mechanism to ensure equitable health access. With a mandate on good quality practice, government needs to incentivise facilities adhering to best systems, said Khanna.

In order to drive patient affordability, government should also exempt healthcare services from GST. Essential medicines and implants should have zero VAT/GST to reduce treatment cost. There should be no service tax on health insurance premium and omit withholding of tax (TDS) u/s 194J of income tax act for payments received from insurance companies/TPA, stated the Vikram Hospital Bengaluru chief.