Exorbitant healthcare costs put the people at risks

The healthcare costs, particularly the prices of medicines and related items, are constantly increasing. Doctor’s fees as well as the cost of diagnostic tests are also increasing.

What’s more is that due to the poor condition of government hospitals, the middle class, even the lower middle class, has to run to private hospitals or clinics. There is no limit to the cost in those places.

The submission of the proposed Health Reform Commission comes at a time when the entire health sector faces major challenges, including inadequate funding, shortage of health workers, high cost of pocket expenses, unequal access to services, weak governance and above all various irregularities. The 12-member commission headed by National Professor AK Azad Khan submitted its report to the Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guesthouse Jamuna on Monday.

According to media reports, Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. ShahinulAlam quoted an international journal and said at an event that 1 percent of surgical patients in this country beg for money and 12 percent borrow money at compound interest rates.

Ultimately they can’t repay that money without selling their assets. As per the recent World Bank data, 5 million people in Bangladesh fall into poverty every year while paying for medical expenses.

Several previous studies have also shown that many people are unable to receive necessary treatment due to high costs. Again, they are getting desperate for treatment and are withdrawing from treatment midway.

A previous BBS survey showed that two-thirds of people suffer from long-term diseases such as gastric, blood pressure, rheumatism, asthma and diabetes, but more than 80 percent of them do not seek any kind of treatment.

According to the International Diabetes Federation’s 2021 statistics, the number of diabetic patients in Bangladesh is around 13 million. Of them, only 5.9 million patients seek treatment. The remaining 7.1 million patients remain untreated. As a result, they quickly develop other diseases in addition to diabetes. Then the cost of their treatment increases further, making it even more impossible for the family to bear.

There are also many complaints about the services provided by the government hospitals. There has been much talk about the shortage of doctors and service providers in upazila health complexes and community clinics. Patients come from far and wide and return without receiving treatment.

We want that initiatives should be taken to standardize government healthcare across the country. To accelerate government healthcare activities, budget allocations should be increased and the best use of the allocation must be ensured.