Healthcare is a basic human need, but for thousands of families in Kashmir it is becoming an increasingly unaffordable burden. The cost of consultation, diagnostic tests, medicines, hospitalisation and prolonged treatment has risen steadily, while household incomes have not kept pace. For a poor or lower-middle-income family, a medical emergency can wipe out years of savings, force people into debt and push children out of school. This is not merely a personal tragedy; it is a failure of public policy. Affordable healthcare cannot be measured only by the availability of hospitals and doctors. It must also be judged by whether an ordinary family can actually afford treatment when illness strikes. A hospital may exist nearby, but if diagnostic tests are expensive, essential medicines unavailable and specialist care beyond reach, access remains incomplete. The promise of universal healthcare loses meaning when patients are compelled to borrow money or sell property to pay for treatment. Kashmir’s public health institutions continue to serve a large population under difficult circumstances. Doctors, nurses and other health workers often work under pressure, particularly in government hospitals where patient numbers far exceed available infrastructure. Yet the system needs stronger support, better planning and greater accountability. Overcrowded hospitals, long waiting periods, shortages of medicines and uneven distribution of specialists make treatment difficult for those who cannot turn to private healthcare. The expansion of private hospitals has increased choices for some, but it has also exposed the deep inequality in access to care. Medical treatment must not become a privilege reserved for those with the ability to pay. Regulatory mechanisms are needed to ensure transparency in hospital charges, prevent unnecessary procedures and protect patients from arbitrary billing. At the same time, the government must strengthen public hospitals so that people are not forced into private facilities merely because the public system is unavailable or overburdened. Preventive healthcare also deserves greater attention. Regular screening, maternal care, vaccination, nutrition programmes and early diagnosis can reduce the need for expensive treatment later. Primary health centres must be adequately staffed and equipped, especially in remote and rural areas. Healthcare should reach people before disease becomes an emergency. Insurance schemes and government assistance programmes can provide relief, but they must be simple, transparent and genuinely accessible. Families should not have to navigate complicated procedures while dealing with illness. Coverage must include medicines, diagnostics and long-term care, not only hospital admission. Affordable healthcare requires sustained public investment, responsible regulation and a patient-centred approach. The measure of progress is not the number of buildings constructed but the number of families protected from financial distress. Kashmir deserves a health system in which no one is forced to choose between treatment and survival. That is not an ambitious demand. It is the minimum obligation of a welfare-oriented government.
