Elderly seek for GST relief on health expenses ahead of Union Budget

CHENNAI: With the Union Finance Ministry gearing up for the annual budget falling on February 1, all eyes are on Nirmala Sitharaman, and the geriatric patients and aged are pinning hopes on the budget with the medical bills coupled with GST eating into their savings and hard-earned money.

“We are hoping for relaxation on GST for medical bills and health insurance policies,” said K Gopal, a septuagenarian based in Kolathur. “The tax should be exempted at least for senior citizens who don’t have any source of income.

The case of pensioners is difficult as medical bills with GST erode savings. The cost of medicines is also skyrocketing due to inflation affecting several people.

There are similar voices from the medical fraternity and insurance policyholders. The situation is so bad that Finance Minister’s Cabinet colleague Nitin Gadkari had urged Nirmala Sitharaman to abolish 18 per cent GST for health insurance. “According to National Health Policy 2017, the health allocation is 2.5 per cent of GDP. India is the only country where the out-of-pocket expenditure is 60 per cent. If you spend 100 rupees, people are spending 60 rupees from their own pocket for their health care. Only less than 4 per cent get funds for their health care,” said G R Ravindranth, general secretary of the Doctors’ Association for Social Equality.

Through Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya, the government is allocating very little amount, which doesn’t meet the requirement, he said. The public health system is also not improving, hitting the poor and elderly badly, Ravindranath added. The central government must improve public health by pumping in more money, he urged.

The head of the doctors’ association underscored the importance of promoting drugs and injections through the public sector. “Generic medicine should be promoted and sold through people’s medical stores across India. The central government should allocate more money for medical education,” Dr Ravindranath added.

The challenges the elderly go through highlight why more focus is needed on the health sector. “I have paid Rs 68,000 as health insurance, out of which Rs 6,000 is GST component,” fumed M Somasundaram, a senior citizen and consumer activist. “The major expectations of the budget on the health sector are withdrawal of GST on health insurance premiums, increase in tax exemptions under IT section 80D and cost-effective health insurance premiums,” opined V Gopalakrishnan, a consultant on Economic issues. Government spending on healthcare should be at around 5 percent of GDP to enhance affordable healthcare access, experts point out.