The central government is open to further reductions in duties or cesses on essential medicines and medical products to ensure that more drugs are available at affordable prices, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on November 11.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Goyal said that the Centre would be happy to receive specific inputs from the industry on medicines and products that could benefit from further reduction in duties.
He assured the industry that this is a listening government, receptive to feedback, suggestions and ideas, and committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to strengthen both domestic healthcare delivery and medical value travel.
The minister pointed out that India’s healthcare sector has benefitted from the rate reduction in the Goods and Services Tax on health and life insurance from 18 percent to 0 percent, and lower duties on medical devices, cancer care drugs and several essential medicines to make treatments more accessible and affordable for citizens.
Goyal said that India’s healthcare model should remain inclusive and equitable. "We cannot have a chalk and cheese system where local citizens are deprived of quality healthcare while focusing only on international medical tourism.”
He welcomed suggestions regarding Visa-on-Arrival and E-Visa facilities for medical tourists, adding that India is already extending such facilities to many countries.
“We allow visas on arrival and e-visas for many countries. Both of these can be considered, for instance, for the US and most European countries, essentially, for nations where we have a level of comfort and detailed investigation is not required. These are also the areas where value-based and medical tourism can grow,” he said.
He suggested that hospitals could consider allowing up to 10 percent of foreign patients, while contributing a portion of the revenue towards the Ayushman Bharat programme or CSR activities benefitting underprivileged sections.
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