THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- August 31, 2016- Topic 2
The ill health of the nation
The National
Health Accounts data for 2013-14 present fresh EVIDENCE that India continues to have a
non-serious approach to the provision of universal health coverage to all its
citizens. India’s health system is one of the most privatised in the world,
poorly regulated and ACCESSIBLE only to those with income levels well above the average.
All these ATTRIBUTES are, once again, strongly BORNE OUT by the NHA data, which lay BARE the extremely low government spending on health which, at 1.15 per cent of GDP, compares poorly with even Sub-Saharan Africa. There, World Development Indicators say, the corresponding figure was 2.9 per cent six years ago. The share of State governments, which are largely responsible for provision of health care, in government health expenditure is estimated at 0.75 per cent of GDP. Evidently, a health policy that fails to pool the financial risk of illness at the population level results in impoverishing payments made out of personal funds — and the NHA figures confirm that despite rising government revenues, the bulk of Indian health spending, a STAGGERING 64.2 per cent of health expenditure, is met by households out-of-pocket. That such OOP expenses declined by five percentage points over a decade is encouraging, but this is insignificant in comparison with the achievement in, say, Thailand, where 75 per cent of the population was brought under UHC in just one year.
All these ATTRIBUTES are, once again, strongly BORNE OUT by the NHA data, which lay BARE the extremely low government spending on health which, at 1.15 per cent of GDP, compares poorly with even Sub-Saharan Africa. There, World Development Indicators say, the corresponding figure was 2.9 per cent six years ago. The share of State governments, which are largely responsible for provision of health care, in government health expenditure is estimated at 0.75 per cent of GDP. Evidently, a health policy that fails to pool the financial risk of illness at the population level results in impoverishing payments made out of personal funds — and the NHA figures confirm that despite rising government revenues, the bulk of Indian health spending, a STAGGERING 64.2 per cent of health expenditure, is met by households out-of-pocket. That such OOP expenses declined by five percentage points over a decade is encouraging, but this is insignificant in comparison with the achievement in, say, Thailand, where 75 per cent of the population was brought under UHC in just one year.
If the NDA government INTENDS to pursue its promise of universal
health assurance in EARNEST, and wants to make up for two lost decades of reform, it has to act DECISIVELY. Raising government expenditure on
health, in conjunction with the States, should form the basis of policy change;
the road map for this was proposed by the Planning Commission’s High Level
Expert Group in 2011. REMEDIAL policies in two key areas can quickly scale up to reduce the OOP burden
on households. One is to put in place a centralised system for procurement of
essential drugs, RELYING mainly on quality generics and distributing them through the State
government system. The other is to arrive at the cost of all medical procedures
for different classes of hospitals, laying down standards and forming
regulatory authorities at the State and district levels under law to enforce
the rules. It was estimated by the Planning Commission group, for instance,
that spending 0.5 per cent of GDP (compared to 0.1 per cent spent by the public
health system) could ensure the availability of essential medicines free of
cost to all Indians. Regulatory controls would automatically lead to a
reduction in costs, and CURBING of unethical and corrupt practices by hospitals and diagnostics centres.
It should then be easier to quickly extend free health insurance to more
classes of people, such as senior citizens, children and the disabled, and
achieve universal coverage early.
::::::::::::::::::Meanings::::::::::::::::::
Evidence: be or show evidence of.
Example:that it has been populated from prehistoric times is
evidenced by the remains of Neolithic buildings
synonyms: indicate, show, reveal, display, exhibit, manifest, testify
to, confirm, prove
Accessible: (of a place) able to be reached or entered.
Example:the town is accessible by bus
synonyms: reachable, attainable, approachable, obtainable, available
Attributes: quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or
inherent part of someone or something.
Example:flexibility and mobility are the key attributes of our
army
synonyms: quality, characteristic, trait, feature, element, aspect, property, sign, hallmark
Borne: carried or transported by.
Example:waterborne bacteria
Bare: without addition; basic and simple.
Example:he outlined the bare essentials of the story
synonyms: plain, essential, fundamental, basic, straightforward, simple, pure
Staggering: walk or move unsteadily, as if about to
fall.
Example:he staggered to his feet, swaying a little
synonyms: lurch, walk
unsteadily, reel, sway, teeter, totter, stumble, wobble
Intend: design or destine (someone or something)
for a particular purpose or end.
Example:pigs intended for human consumption
Earnest: resulting from or showing sincere and
intense conviction.
Example:an earnest student
synonyms: serious, solemn, grave, sober, humorless, staid, intense, committed
Decisively: admirably purposeful, determined, and
unwavering.
Example:she was decisive and unswerving
synonyms: determined, purposeful, resolved, adamant, single-minded
Remedial: giving or intended as a remedy or cure.
Example:remedial surgery
Relying: depend on with full trust or confidence.
Example:I know I can rely on your discretion
synonyms: depend on, count
on, bank on, place reliance on, be confident of
Curbing: restrain or keep in check.
Example:she promised she would curb her temper
synonyms: restrain, hold
back/in, keep back, repress, suppress, fight back
