-The Indian Express Lamenting the virtual collapse of public health system in major parts of the country, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today said rural families are falling into debt trap due to expensive private health sector. In large parts of the country, particularly in central and eastern India and in tribal belts, he said public health system is "not abysmal but has collapsed". "Indebtedness caused by private health sector is one of the...

-Outlook Its ploy of Aadhar-hinged cash transfer may have won the Congress political points, but will it really be a game-changer?   State-Wise     40% of the 22 crore Aadhar numbers are in Andhra Pradesh (4.7 crore) and Maharashtra (4 crore)     20% is what the two politically sensitive, Congress-ruled states account for of the 51 districts where DCT will be rolled out     55 lakh Aadhar numbers in TMC-run West Bengal. BJP-ruled Gujarat (57...

-Live Mint The prime source of financing will be from general taxation or public exchequer, says Planning Commission Government-run hospitals may stop charging for primary services such as investigative tests as India attempts to provide universal health coverage to all its citizens. “No fee of any kind would be levied on Primary healthcare services with the prime source of financing being from general taxation/public exchequer,” the Planning Commission says in its latest health...

-The Hindu The new Bill should pitch for free care to mental health patients in public hospitals. Persons with mental illness have long been subjected to cruelty, neglect, ridicule and stigma. In the last half-century, medical science has made significant strides in finding some cures and palliatives for afflictions of the mind – of emotion, mood, thinking and behaviour. Parallel to this is the evolution in our ethical frameworks: of human rights,...

-The Indian Express The government’s proposal to price-control certain drugs will create more problems than it will solve From clothes to cars, prices of consumer products the world over are determined taking into account input costs, margins and competition, popularly called the cost-based pricing system. Departing from this sound, fair, tried and tested principle of commerce, the government’s new drug pricing policy, approved by the Group of Ministers headed by Sharad Pawar,...