Making Covid-19 Care Accessible to All: 'Govt Needs to Intervene, Fix Prices for Treatments & Tests'

Comparisons have been made about the disparity between the response of the public health systems and private healthcare during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Many say that government hospitals, which are the only option for a majority of the country, aren't properly equipped to deal with the crisis, while private hospitals are expensive beyond reach.

In an interview with News18, Pritam Datta, a fellow at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, argues that this is the right time for the government to step in and take some control of the private health facilities to make testing and treatment accessible for all.

Do you see a disparity between the responses of the public and private healthcare systems in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic?

There was a sense post-liberalistion that the government should withdraw from the public sphere and allow the private sector to get in. Gradually, successive governments in India reduced the expenditure on social services. As a result the number and facilities of government hospitals across the country stagnated while big private healthcare centres mushroomed in cities.

The situation right now is that we don't have enough public hospitals or laboratories to help us. I just came across a report which stated that the cost of getting a Covid-19 test done in India is the highest among south Asian countries. The common man cannot spend that sort of money. Even in the recently announced stimulus package, by the union finance minister, so little was offered even in the present time of crisis.

A lot of poor people have migrated back to their homes in villages. For those still living in cities, how affordable and accessible are health facilities for the urban poor?

The poor need to rely on public facilities. There are costs that the poor incur in addition to the hospitalisation and testing costs. The government is gradually easing the lockdown. For the poor, this means not just wasting time in long queues. It translates into loss of potential wages for them. Their savings have already depleted. So the poor may have really no incentive to get checked or seek treatment unless they absolutely have to.

The bigger problem isn't properly monitoring private health facilities. There is hardly any data handy on the availability of their beds, their profit-and-loss statements, the kind of facilities they have free and occupied. I think during this time of health crisis it makes perfect sense for the government to intervene.

Intervene in what way? Do you feel that curbs on pricing should be put for the benefit of the vulnerable poor?

I think the very definition of the 'vulnerable poor' is very dicey. The intervention I think should be in terms of price-controlling. I think the government needs to fix some ceiling price for various treatment and tests. The easiest way is to make testing easily accessible to the poor and the rich alike and to bring down the costs associated with treatment. This is not the time to look at profits.

Since the coronavirus positive cases and fatalities are seeing regular spikes, what do you think is the best way going forward?

The WHO has said that the only way out is to increase the number of tests. Only if you can detect will you be in a position to treat and isolate people. When we went for lockdown, our testing rate was quite low. But even now, two months later, the number of tests hasn't been brought up to the mark. If you see the statistics of increase in Covid-19 positive cases and fatalities, you will notice sudden spikes. What is happening is that there are a lot of local unnoticed spreaders which are having a cumulative effect. So, in short, ramping up testing is the only way to go about it.