Pondering ways to slash healthcare costs as poor suffer crushing debt: Andhra CM

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said that the state government is contemplating ways to reduce healthcare costs, especially at a time when poor people are burdened with crushing debt to afford medical treatment.

Speaking at the inauguration of a corporate hospital in Guntur, the chief minister remarked that while advancements in the medical field are commendable, the rising costs of treatment are leaving some patients with exorbitant bills.

"We are thinking about how to slash medical costs. Today, all poor families are getting crushed under medical expenses. Sometimes, I feel bad. On the one hand, we are elated at the progress being made in the medical field but at times patients are incurring medical bills ranging up to Rs 60 lakh, Rs 70 lakh, and even Rs 1 crore," he said addressing the audience.

Underscoring that many people are being compelled to sell their assets to afford healthcare, Naidu said survivors face a bleak future after such exorbitant expenditure, while the families of patients who survive are left financially devastated.

"Keeping all this in mind what kind of mechanism can we introduce? How can we safeguard the health of the poor? How can we reduce medical expenses for everyone? Intellectuals need to think about this. I am also thinking," said Naidu.

Criticising corporate hospitals, the TDP supremo observed that being mindful of society at large should be just as important as managing or running their healthcare facilities.

At a time when wearable health technology is available to monitor patients’ health, he said there was no need for hospitals to admit patients for every "silly reason", impose hefty room charges and burden them financially.

"Any disease can be monitored, and mechanisms are being developed to transfer patients to hospitals when necessary. In the future, patients should be monitored wherever they are, brought to the hospital only when needed, and operated on when required. Only then will costs decrease," he noted.

The CM said these goals can be achieved through the efficient use of emerging technologies such as real-time data, the Internet of Things (IoT), wearables and more.

Emphasising the importance of Artificial Intelligence, Naidu said this futuristic technology is assisting doctors during operations, enabling "ordinary doctors to perform extraordinary surgeries".

Likewise he stated that preventive healthcare is the responsibility of medical professionals and called for greater public awareness and real-time monitoring.

Furthermore he emphasised the need to identify 90 per cent of the prevalent diseases in the southern state to develop a plan of action for their prevention.