Budget 2022 Highlights For Health Sector: Tele Mental Health, Ayushman Bharat Health Account And More

The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, presented her fourth Union Budget on Tuesday, emphasizing the healthcare sector amid the Coronavirus pandemic. While announcing the Budget, Ms Sitharaman stressed the importance of strengthening the healthcare sector.

"We are in the midst of a major Omicron epidemic. The rapid pace of our vaccination campaign has been of great assistance. With the rapid improvement of health infrastructure over the past two years, we are well-positioned to face challenges. I am confident that with Sabka Prayas we will continue our journey of strong growth," Nirmala Sitharaman said [1].

Budget 2022 Highlights For Health Sector

1. National Tele Mental Health Programme:

As a result of the pandemic, mental health problems have become more prevalent in people of all ages. The National Tele Mental Health Programme will be launched to improve access to mental health counselling and care services. The network will consist of 23 tele mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS acting as the nodal centre and IIIT Bangalore providing technical support. The program's launch coincides with growing scientific evidence that links COVID-19 infection to mental illness. Patients have reported anxiety and depression during the pandemic and 'Long Covid', where recovering patients may have brain fog and be unable to think as well as experiencing neurological symptoms.

2. National Digital Health Ecosystem:

The National Digital Health Ecosystem will be implemented through an open platform. This will consist of digital registries of health service providers and facilities, unique health identifiers, and universal access to health care.

3. Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA):

At present, the government is creating Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) - a randomly generated 14-digit number that can be used to uniquely identify individuals, authenticate them, and read their health records only with their informed consent - across multiple systems and stakeholders.

On A Final Note...

In terms of the priority accorded to health in government budgets, India ranks 179 out of 189 countries. As health is a state subject in India, spending on healthcare by the states is of the utmost importance when examining government healthcare spending, according to the Economic Survey 2020-21, presented in Parliament on Friday by Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the presentation of the Budget for 2019. According to Sitharaman, 95 per cent of 112 aspirational districts have made substantial progress in health infrastructure.