NEW DELHI: Revenue earned from foreign patients and affluent Indians should help fund treatment for poorer patients, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended, proposing that corporate hospitals adopt a cross-subsidisation model to make advanced healthcare more affordable.The panel said hospitals that benefit from government concessions such as subsidised land, tax incentives and 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) should earmark part of the revenue generated from medical tourism and high-paying patients to provide advanced tertiary care to economically weaker Indians.The recommendation is part of the committee’s report on the affordability and accessibility of healthcare, which noted that India’s corporate hospital sector has recorded strong growth driven by high-value procedures, rising medical tourism and increasing revenue per occupied bed. While acknowledging India’s emergence as a global healthcare destination, the panel said the benefits of this growth must also reach patients who cannot afford expensive treatment.Observing that private health insurance penetration in India remains low and out-of-pocket expenditure continues to push many families into financial distress, the committee said a structured cross-subsidy mechanism could improve access to life-saving tertiary care for poorer patients. It said hospitals receiving government support should share part of the gains from medical tourism and premium-paying patients with economically weaker sections.The panel also recommended that corporate hospitals reserve a defined quota of beds under government-funded health insurance schemes such as Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY at standard package rates to ensure that beneficiaries have access to advanced treatment at leading private hospitals.
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To address the uneven distribution of healthcare infrastructure, the committee proposed linking government incentives, including subsidised land, tax benefits and FDI facilitation, to investment in tier-2, tier-3 and rural areas. It also recommended expanding public-private partnerships and extending financial and technology support to smaller hospitals in underserved regions.The recommendations form part of a broader roadmap to make healthcare more affordable. The committee has also proposed capping private hospital room rents in major metropolitan cities at the average tariff of nearby three-star hotels, standardising treatment package rates, improving price transparency and expanding government health spending to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure.
