NE HEALTH BUREAU
CHENNAI, DEC 27
Ahead of Pediatric Surgery Day-December 29, the Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons urges the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India to ensure that children are not discriminated by the exclusion clause of congenital external anomaly, says Dr Ramesh Babu, President, Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons (IAPS).
Children are the most important assets of future India. Forming 40% of the population they indeed deserve the maximum resources allocation in any country’s budget. As we aim for becoming a developed nation in 2047, as per the Government of India (GOI) goals, all policies need to be reviewed as an already developed nation and should be adopted whole-heartedly. While the infant mortality rate has improved very well in cities, in rural areas it is still high. Birth defects constitute an important cause of infant mortality in rural areas.
- Pediatric Surgery Day-December 29: While there are around 800 districts in India only half have pediatric surgeons
- Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons requests the health authorities to create pediatric surgical posts in all districts first to reduce infant mortality in rural areas
- In the last 5 years 13.5 crore came out of poverty, and this neo middle class neither have government insurance cover nor have adequate income to meet an unforeseen health expense like a new-born with birth defect
The time taken for the parents to take the children to a higher centre often remains detrimental to the survival of these babies. Pediatric Surgeons are the key specialists who take care of birth defects. While there are around 800 districts in India only half have pediatric surgeons. This gap has never been properly addressed. Our national medical commission has recommended that in all medical colleges with more than 100 surgical beds 10% should be allotted to children. While our government has the lofty goal of setting up a medical college in each district, we request the health authorities to create pediatric surgical posts in all districts first to reduce infant mortality in rural areas. This will make specialist surgical care accessible for parents.
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Another major issue faced by the parents is lack of financial support. When a child with birth defect is born, it creates a huge hole in the small pocket of the young parents who are just settling in their careers.
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (Ayushman Bharat)
The much applauded initiative of GOI, Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (Ayushman Bharat) has been very successful to provide inclusive health insurance to children with birth defects too and has been augmented/ adopted by the state governments with full force. However the state/ central health insurance scheme is available only for those below poverty line. In the last 5 years 13.5 crore came out of poverty, and this neo middle class neither have government insurance cover nor have adequate income to meet an unforeseen health expense like a new-born with birth defect. These parents have to sell their properties to meet health expenses or deny the essential life-saving treatment due to lack of insurance cover. In all developed countries when parents have taken insurance, children are automatically covered for all ailments (External or Internal). Even in India Government insurance schemes cover both internal and external birth defects. But private insurers deny the children their rights citing ‘congenital internal or external anomaly’. An anomaly is no fault of the child or parent but a pure accident of nature. We feel that these neo-middle class parents would plunge into poverty if we don’t cover them with insurance adequately.
