India's economy is so bad, why can it implement free medical care?

Liu Yiqing in the Southern Dynasties said in Shi Shuo Xin Yu: "When the time comes, it will do." As long as people are alive, these four things are inevitable, among which illness is the most tormenting. Especially for poor families, a serious illness is enough to destroy a family's economic system. But I believe many people have heard that India has implemented free medical care for all. However, India is not rich and has a large population. Why can there be such free medical care measures?

in a constitution in 1949, India has made it very clear that all citizens can enjoy free medical care. India has not implemented the medical insurance system like many countries. It is directly subsidized by the government for hospitals and medicines, and Indians do not need to pay insurance premiums. If they are sick, they can go directly to public hospitals to see a doctor. This is why foreigners can enjoy free medical care when they are sick in India. But experts said: this is not worthy of our envy. Public hospitals in India will provide patients with basic drugs free of charge, but most of the more expensive drugs need to be charged.

▲ Indians who see a doctor

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Due to the economic constraints, the environment of public hospitals in India is relatively bad, and there is an extreme shortage of medical staff, beds and medicines. If you go to public hospitals to treat some common diseases, it is not a big problem, but slightly more serious diseases still need to be treated in private hospitals. In India, nearly 6% of medical expenses are paid by oneself, and it takes a long time to be treated in public hospitals if complicated treatment measures such as surgery are needed.

The environment of public hospitals in India has also been criticized by people. Let's listen to what Indian civilians have to say first. In August 215, there was a news in India that a newborn was bitten to death by a mouse in a public hospital in India. This shows that the environment of these public hospitals is harsh. The same is true of many public schools in India, where there is no glass in the windows, and students have no tables and chairs, so they can only sit on the floor.

▲ Photos of Indian hospitals

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Because the income of public hospitals is relatively low, although Indians are keen on studying medicine, after graduation, most students who graduated from medical schools prefer to work in private hospitals. Even their original intention of studying medicine is to work in private hospitals in order to get higher remuneration. This situation has also caused the medical level of public hospitals to be very limited. Except the poor, the middle class and the rich will not choose to go to public hospitals for treatment.

But no matter how difficult it is, the Indian government will implement free medical care, which is also determined by its national conditions. India is a populous country with a large base of poor people. India's sanitary conditions and people's long-standing living habits are very unfavorable to health. In this case, if a large number of poor people get sick, it will have a serious impact on the stability of the whole country and social security. For the poor, if they lose the government's medical subsidy, they can only sit back and wait. So in any case, the Indian government must ensure that basic medical care can be free.

▲ Indian generic drugs

This policy can be implemented, largely because Indian drugs are cheaper. Indian countries have always supported the generic drugs of domestic pharmaceutical companies, and they directly stipulated that even drugs whose protection period has not expired can be copied by Indian pharmaceutical companies. In order to solve the basic medical problems in India, the Indian government has supported their generic drugs. As it turns out, this has played a great role in free medical care in India.

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There is still a good thing to learn from India's medical system, that is, the Indian government will strictly limit the fees charged by private hospitals. Although private hospitals are for profit, under this restriction, some low-and middle-income groups do not have to bear too high medical expenses when they choose private hospitals when they are not treated in public hospitals. Even so, the expenses needed by private hospitals are beyond the reach of the poor.

▲ Present situation of medical treatment in public hospitals in India

According to the survey data, less than 3% of Indians choose to go to public hospitals, which is very close to the proportion of poor people in India. In other words, only the poor will go to public hospitals. For low-and middle-income people, it is very likely that they will go bankrupt once they get sick. This is because public hospitals can't treat them, while private hospitals can, but it costs money. This situation is just like what the Book of Songs said: "People also have words, and they are in a dilemma." It is a real "want money or die" choice.

India's medical level has a high reputation in the international medical community, and because its fees are much lower than those in Europe and America, medical tourism to India has emerged in recent years. This medical tourism has brought billions of dollars to India, and the Indian government has been supporting private medical enterprises.

▲ private hospitals in India

Conclusion

India's medical system, like India's classification of the rich and the poor, has gone to two extremes. One is a public hospital with poor conditions, which provides free basic medical care for most civilians. One is a well-equipped private hospital, which provides perfect medical care for the middle and high income classes. The free medical care that the Indian government has been implementing since its independence is a very commendable measure, and it is hoped that it will be better developed in the future, so that more sick poor people can recover as soon as possible.