New Delhi: The Government is likely to substantially raise budgetary support for the health sector from about Rs 12,000 crore provided in 2006-07 Budget.
The Finance Ministry is concerned about the lack of cooperation from the state governments to the Universal Health Insurance Scheme for the below poverty line (BPL) families.
Therefore the Government has decided to raise the Central support for this scheme, apart from additional funds for health sector.
Union Chemical and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has recommended a two per cent health cess under the new drug policy to raise about Rs 6,000 crore annually for providing medical support to over 22 crore BPL population.
Meanwhile, the universal health insurance scheme has not virtually taken off.
While states like Kerala have blamed the Centre for not covering all the BPL families under the scheme, Finance Ministry claimed that the states were not ready to make a nominal contribution of around Rs 100 per beneficiary annually to the scheme.
The Ministry is not in favour of a health cess and may rather prefer to increase budgetary support for the health sector in view of the buoyancy in the revenue collections, the sources said.
The Ministry has also asked the Health Ministry to utilise the available resources in an efficient manner.
With annual inflation rate touching 6.58 per cent and surge in prices of essential commodities by over 10 per cent within months, Finance Ministry is under attack from some quarters of the Congress and allies of the UPA.
Health cess can be considered only if there are last minute directions from the Prime Minister's Office, which is highly unlikely considering Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has himself favoured lowering of tax burden, the sources said.
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