Challenges in PPP Health Care Model

What is the issue?

• NITI Aayog proposed a model contract to increase the role of private hospitals in treating non-communicable diseases.
• This proposal has implementation challenges.

What are the proposals of NITI Aayog?

• The proposed model consists of leasing out a portion of the hospital for 30 years to a private company to provide treatment.
• The treatment coverage is for the three diseases cardiology, cancer and pulmonology.
• Complicated cases will be referred to bigger hospitals of their own or of government.
• Government reimbursements for patients referred to them will be on par with rates paid under the government sponsored insurance scheme.
• The private entity will have its own staff and personnel, laboratories, pharmacy, ambulances and common services.

What is the need for such model?

• The three diseases mentioned earlier account for 35% of total mortality in the country.
• 3/4^th of the specialists, equipment and beds are in the private sector.
• So the partnership with private sector is inevitable.

What are the challenges in implementation?

• Salary scale, working methods, prescription practices, monitoring and accountability systems are all different in public and private models.
• No clarity has been given on the coexistence of public and private managements on the same physical space.
• In the government bears all risks and the private partner goes away with all the profits.
• The accountability of private partner is limited to just of submitting some annual reports to the government.
• The model does not provide any information on the pricing strategy and its impact on public budgets.

Source: Indian Express