The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has submitted a comprehensive representation to the Government of India, calling for decisive leadership in health and a significant increase in public health spending to achieve the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047.
In its letter, the IMA reiterated that the organisation was formed during the freedom struggle and has consistently worked alongside successive governments since Independence. Emphasising its commitment to collaborate with the government on all health-related matters, the association sought policy reforms aimed at ensuring accessible, affordable and quality universal healthcare for all citizens.
The IMA thanked the government for exempting health insurance and select life-saving medicines from GST last year, while highlighting India’s unique healthcare model where affordable primary and secondary care is delivered by neighbourhood doctors and small-to-medium hospitals. It warned that doctor-led hospitals and clinics are steadily disappearing due to over-regulation, price controls and policies favouring large corporate healthcare players.
Calling Universal Health Care (UHC) a citizen entitlement rather than an aspirational goal, the IMA advocated a tax-funded health system with a basic health package covering primary, secondary and tertiary care. It opposed reliance on contributory insurance models, stating that general taxation should be the primary source of health financing.
The association pointed out that India’s public health spending remains among the lowest globally, with government expenditure ranging between 1.1% and 1.9% of GDP, while out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for nearly 63% of total health spending. According to the IMA, over 55 million Indians are pushed into poverty every year due to healthcare expenses.
Among its key demands, the IMA urged the Centre and states to jointly allocate 5% of GDP approximately ₹18 lakh crore to health, compared to the current combined allocation of about ₹4.95 lakh crore. It proposed a roadmap to raise healthcare spending to 2.5% of GDP in the immediate budget and scale it up to 5% by 2030.
The letter also recommended re-envisioning the PMJAY scheme to include outpatient care and medicines, shifting to an assurance-based model, introducing direct beneficiary transfers, allowing patient choice of providers, revising package rates to realistic levels, and ensuring time-bound payments to hospitals.
To address infrastructure gaps, the IMA highlighted a shortage of 2.4 million hospital beds and called for long-term credit, interest subsidies, viability gap funding, tax incentives and credit guarantee schemes to support small and medium hospitals, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
The association further sought GST exemptions for vaccines and life-saving medical equipment, regulation of foreign direct investment in healthcare, creation of a National Healthcare Fund, incentives for medical innovation and start-ups, and direct government support for HPV vaccination to reduce cervical cancer burden.
Submitting what it described as “technically rational and reasonable” proposals, the IMA urged the government to take ownership of health sector leadership and prioritise investment in public health infrastructure, human resources and patient-centric reforms to build a Swasth Bharat as the foundation of a Viksit Bharat.
Here is the letter:
