Medical regulation needs urgent reform but proposed new Medical Commission of India Bill is deeply flawed.

Source: K. Sujatha Rao, former union health secretary, ‘Do we care: India’s health system’

Most countries treat medical education as a public good. The US doesn’t, which is why, despite spending 2% of GDP on health, it still has a quarter of its population without access to healthcare. Is this the model we desperately need doctors to work in public health, in rural areas and in public hospitals? Which doctor after paying huge capitation fees and incurring debt can work for those who have no capacity to pay? Privatisation aimed at profiteering is not cost effective. An appendicitis operation done free or within Rs 10,000 in a public hospital costs three to six times more in a corporate hospital. So if district hospitals are privatised, people will be denied access to affordable secondary care. Government intervention is an imperative not a choice.

Cost effectiveness is a core value of CMEPEDIA, as it acknowledges the reality of health care delivery