Rajasthan Right to Health Bill

Subject : Governance

Concept :

The Rajasthan Assembly’s recently completed budget session restarted discussion about the Right to Health Bill.
If the bill is approved, hospitals, clinics, and laboratories that are both publicly and privately operated must offer free and reasonably priced medical services.
The Bill is opposed by private hospital doctors who claim it was quickly drafted, ignores practical considerations, and could tighten standards in an industry that is already overly regulated.

Key points of the Bill

The Right to Healthcare Bill, 2022 was introduced to the State Legislature by the Rajasthan State government in September 2022.
Patients and healthcare professionals are given rights under the Bill, which also obliges the government to uphold these legal rights and requires the establishment of grievance redressal systems.
Residents of Rajasthan will be entitled to free examinations, medications, diagnostics, emergency transport, and care at all public health facilities, as well as reasonably priced surgeries. The Bill views healthcare as a public good rather than as a means of profit.
20 rights are outlined in clause 3 of the bill, including the right to informed consent, the right to information (in the form of medical records and documentation) regarding diagnosis and treatment, and the right to treatment free from caste, class, age, gender, and other discrimination.
The obligation for providing adequate medical services is transferred to the government under Section 4 of the Bill. The government is “obligated” to allocate funding, establish institutions, and create grievance redressal procedures.
The government must create a human resource policy for the health sector under section 4, which calls for a fair distribution of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals throughout all levels of the system.

Right to health under the Indian Constitution

The right to health is not specifically mentioned in the Indian Constitution.
The theoretical “right to health” is drawn from the constitutionally protected rights to life and liberty (Article 21).
In the past, courts have underlined the State’s duty to safeguard and advance citizens’ health, citing constitutional clauses like Article 38 (promotes the welfare of people) and Article 47 (directs the government to meet the population’s nutritional and health needs).

Health Index for States

The Health Index for States developed by Niti Aayog in consultation with the health ministryand the World Bank has rankings for large states, smaller states and Union territories.
It is based on 23 health parameters ranging from mortality rate and sex ratio to functioning cardiac care units.
In 2019, Kerala was the top performer followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The index results indicated that states even with a lower economic output are performing better on health and well-being.