Chandigarh: Punjab’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for providing subsidised MRI, CT scan and laboratory diagnostic services has found endorsement from the parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare, which described it as an effective mechanism for reducing patients’ out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure and recommended that the Union govt develop a standardised framework to help other states adopt similar models.
The observations are part of the committee’s report, which has been tabled in both Houses of Parliament. The panel noted that high out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare was largely driven by the exorbitant cost of diagnostic tests and specialised treatment.
It observed that Punjab’s model of providing high-end radio-diagnostic services, including MRI and CT scans, and laboratory services at substantially discounted Central Govt Health Scheme (CGHS) rates was a highly effective mechanism for reducing healthcare costs. It also referred to Goa’s collaboration for providing free dialysis services as another effective model.
The committee recommended that the Union govt develop a standardised Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework to help all states outsource high-cost diagnostic and dialysis services at capped rates.
It also recommended that the ministry formulate guidelines for systematically channelling Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds toward procuring capital-intensive medical infrastructure for public hospitals.
According to the report, the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) entered into concession agreements with two private firms under the PPP model to improve affordability and expand access to quality diagnostic services.
For radio-diagnostic services, the PHSC signed a 10-year concession agreement with a private diagnostics firm on April 20, 2021. Under the arrangement, 80 types of diagnostic scans are being provided at discounted CGHS rates across six clusters. MRI facilities have been established at district hospitals in Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Mohali, while CT scan centres have been set up at all 23 district hospitals and three sub-divisional hospitals in the state.
The report further noted that the PHSC signed a separate 12-year concession agreement with another private firm in August 2021 for laboratory diagnostic services. Under this agreement, 254 laboratory tests are being provided at a uniform discount of 47.340% on CGHS rates. The network comprises 30 laboratories, 125 collection centres, including 30 satellite centres, and a State Reference Laboratory at Mohali.
In addition, the parliamentary panel noted that the PHSC entered into another agreement on May 31, 2023, to provide laboratory diagnostic services at Aam Aadmi Clinics. Initially, the agreement covered 38 laboratory tests. Following its renewal, eight more tests were added, increasing the total number of tests available at Aam Aadmi Clinics to 46.
