HYDERABAD: Telangana is third highest in terms of per capita expenditure on healthcare in the country, after Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, as per the latest report by the Centre. At Rs 6,000 crore, Telangana also has one of the highest healthcare budgets among different states.
As per the report tabled in the Rajya Sabha, Himachal Pradesh spends Rs 3,177 per person on healthcare, Kerala spends Rs 2,272 while Telangana spends Rs 1,698.
When it comes to out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare (expense that people have to bear to avail paid services at private health facilities) Telangana is at the 9th position. People in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and AP have to spend more on availing private services than in Telangana, as per the report.
After formation of Telangana state, the healthcare budget was raised from Rs 3,800 crore (for the entire undivided AP) to Rs 6,000 crore, which gave a boost to healthcare infrastructure like primary health centres (PHCs), basthi dawakhanas, equipment and diagnostic services (Telangana diagnostics). A big component was spent on Aaryogasri scheme.
“For a small state like Telangana, Rs 6,000 crore is a good budget. We spend heavily on improving the infrastructure and drugs supply. Also since the health department is essentially an HR-centric department, with a focus on doctors, nurses or paramedics, a lot of expenditure revolves around them. We are also spending very good amount on Aarogyasri, Telangana diagnostics and drugs. Off late, Rs 10,000 crore additional budget is being mobilized for new medical colleges,” said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, director public health, Telangana.
Among the states spending least per capita expenditure are Bihar with Rs 556 per person, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh with Rs 801 and Madhya Pradesh with Rs 980
