Nathealth – Healthcare Federation of India has submitted a comprehensive set of recommendations to the government for the Union Budget 2023-24 to address the current barriers for the private healthcare sector.
The recommendations cover strengthening healthcare infrastructure across tier 2 and 3 geographies, investing in emergency healthcare delivery services and expanding testing infrastructure in the hinterland by accelerating capex spends.
In the short- term recommendations submitted to the government, Nathealth has highlighted the need of enhancing the role of the private sector in increasing capacities of our healthcare professionals to address the shortage of healthcare professionals.
It has recommended rationalization of GST. Unlike in other sectors, the healthcare sector has not been able to derive the benefits of the GST transition. In fact, the embedded taxes in the healthcare sector have increased in the post-GST regime compared to pre-GST scenarios. Based on the results of the study of the embedded taxes, Nathealth proposes the following two options like imposition of a 5% GST merit rate at the output healthcare services for all healthcare establishments (both private and government) with the option to claim full input tax credits, levying a 5% GST rate on output services for all private hospitals and an optional dual rate structure for government healthcare establishments.
