CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has earmarked Rs 23,357 crore for the health and family welfare department in the 2026-27 Budget, with new spending proposed for cancer services, telemedicine, primary healthcare and high-risk pregnancy care. Finance minister Marie Wilson announced the measures while presenting the budget on Wednesday.The govt will establish five district-level cancer care hospitals under a hub-and-spoke model on medical college hospital campuses, with Rs 110 crore set aside for the initiative. The centres are expected to provide cancer-related surgeries and specialist treatment closer to patients’ homes.Primary care pushA total of 1,000 model primary health centres would be upgraded across Tamil Nadu, the budget documents said. Mobile teams comprising a doctor, nurse and healthcare worker would travel to rural areas to provide free health check-ups and medicines, with Rs 33 crore allocated for the programme.The state has also announced a Rs 33-crore telemedicine scheme under a hub-and-spoke model. Five centres will provide specialist consultations, serve up to 1,000 patients a day, and dispense 200 types of medicines.Maternal healthUnder the proposed scheme, pregnant women with obstetric complications, including diabetes, hypertension and obesity, will receive medical support at home through mobile-phone-based follow-up. The initiative has been allocated Rs 23 crore.Mother and child health would remain a key pillar of the State’s health policy, Wilson said.Tamil Nadu’s infant mortality rate is 11, while 53% of deliveries are conducted in government hospitals, she said, adding that the measures were intended to reduce families’ out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure.Under the proposed Thaimaman Thangamodiram scheme, a one-gram gold coin will be given to every newborn. The govt has earmarked Rs 560 crore for the scheme.
