Former IAS officer opposes government’s decision of PPP model for medical colleges

Health is a fundamental right granted to every citizen by the Constitution and it is the government’s responsibility to provide quality medical care to all, said former IAS officer P.V. Ramesh.

At a roundtable, jointly organised by the Jana Vignana Vedika and Praja Arogya Vedika to discuss the ill-effects of setting up medical colleges in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode in the State, in Vijayawada on Sunday, Mr. Ramesh said health should not be dependent on the charity of the government.

“It is a legal right. Spending on public health should not be seen as an expenditure, but as an investment for the future,” said Mr. Ramesh, adding that in many developed countries, governments bear the burden of healthcare expenses. He strongly opposed the State government’s decision of introducing PPP mode for medical colleges and urged people to not be misled by what the government says.

While the government may have one believe that PPP mode is different from privatisation, people should think for themselves on why any private company would like to be involved in something without any profit. Mr. Ramesh noted that A.P. fares poorly on the health index when compared to other southern States and that the latest decision would only make things worse.

In response to the Health Minister’s recent clarification that the government chose the PPP model due to fund crunch, Mr. Ramesh said that if the government could take loans worth lakhs of crores for other purposes, it could surely borrow ₹6,000 crore to run medical colleges.

Geyanand, former State president of Jana Vignana Vedika and former MLC, said while neo-liberalism had reached its final stage globally, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu continues to cling to it. He also opposed the universal health policy, which integrates Ayushman Bharat and the NTR Vaidya Seva schemes, as this too would involve private insurance companies.

Many activists, doctors, leaders participated in the discussion. Praja Arogya Vedika State secretary T. Kameswara Rao, Jana Vignana Vedika State president and former MLC K. Lakshmana Rao and its State secretary Tavva Suresh, All India Lawyers’ Association secretary Madhav Rao were among those present.