Views of Mr. Anurag Khosla, CEO of vHealth by Aetna on Pre-budget expectations 2023 for the Healthcare industry.

New Delhi, January 31, 2023: Making quality healthcare easily accessible and affordable continues to be the Government’s policy and budgetary focus in 2023. The forthcoming Union Budget should reinforce this focus by supporting innovation in healthcare that stimulates the pace of tech-driven growth in the sector. 

A major priority for this budget is Healthcare delivery to ensure last mile access to quality yet affordable services. In addition to increasing share of healthcare spend in overall budget, the Government should incentivize telemedicine adoption at a PHC level to reduce the growing urban-rural divide in accessing quality healthcare. This requires building a harmonious ecosystem that intertwines strengths of both public and the private sectors to ensure affordability & quality of healthcare for EWS as well as the growing middle class in Tier 3 or below cities. 

An important aspect of improving access to quality care is expanding scope of healthcare financing to cover preventive & primary care services. This will encourage users to adopt healthier lifestyle under professional supervision with the objective of preventing themselves from getting ill or manage a chronic illness, without creating a financial burden. This, in the long run, can lead to a healthier population, thus reducing burden on the overall healthcare infra. 

I firmly believe that India has the potential of becoming the Healthcare Capital of the World by building a robust, well connected phygital healthcare ecosystem that combines the benefit of both physical & digital delivery channels, that is accessible & affordable by every section of the society, anywhere in the country.

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)