Budget 2026 :- Healthcare workers have demanded the government implement tax-funded universal health care and strengthen government hospitals in the upcoming Union Budget 2026. They stated that strengthening public health standards is crucial to providing accessible and accessible healthcare to the country’s vast population.
The workers also expressed concern that government health workers face a severe shortage of beneficiaries and funding, resulting in inadequate services for a large number of beneficiaries. They also stressed the need to expand the scope of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to include outpatient care.
Dr. Vinay Agarwal, former national president of the Indian Medical Association, said that tax-funded universal health care should be implemented with a basic health package for all citizens. He demanded that public health spending be increased from 2.5 to 5 percent of GDP to strengthen government hospitals and human resources.
He also stated that the government should make necessary reforms to PMJAY, including including outpatient services, setting realistic packages, implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), co-payment arrangements, and ensuring timely payments. He also urged for GST exemption on life-saving equipment, consumables, and all beneficiaries.
A remaining report by The Lancet Commission emphasized the role of the public health system as the backbone to achieving universal health coverage. A commentary published alongside the report reviewed India’s progress towards universal health coverage and highlighted structural weaknesses in the health system.
The report identified fragmented governance, poor coordination between services at various levels, institutional-organization health services rather than citizen-organization systems, and deficiencies in quality, equity, and continuity of care as key obstacles to achieving universal health coverage.
The document also states that universal health care requires multiple programs, but if these programs are not coordinated in terms of spending, accountability and continuity of services can be weakened. Healthcare delivery should be based on the patient’s entire treatment journey and the continuity of services, rather than a facility-focused approach.
The report also points out that weak referral systems and poor integration between primary, secondary, and tertiary health services limit system efficiency and health outcomes. According to the study, policy commitments alone are not sufficient, but strong environmental capacity is also essential to implement the objectives.
Aditya Banerjee, a member of the Medical Technologies Association of India (MTaI), said that while the government has increased budgetary allocations for healthcare over the past few years, due to a lack of consistent priority given to capacity building, public health volunteers still lack sufficient resources to provide adequate services to the large number of jobs.
He also called for effective changes to public procurement concepts to focus on services and best value for the entire health system, rather than focusing solely on the lowest initial price. This will not only improve health outcomes but also help control rising health expenditures, which have become a serious challenge in many developed economies.
