An introduction of service tax on the healthcare sector will make it more difficult for the public to afford healthcare, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), an association of doctors, said here in a press release on Monday.

An additional five percent service tax on the healthcare industry, which is already out of reach for many people due to various other taxes, shows that the healthcare sector has not been given due importance in the budget, said Dr Vinay Aggarwal, IMA president.

“Health is a state subject and should be looked after by the government, still 70 percent of the healthcare delivery system is being managed by the private sector,” said Aggarwal.

Dr D R Rai, honorary secretary general, IMA said that in this budget, the finance minister has proposed the health sector outlay for 2011-12 for Rs26,760 crores, a raise of 20 percent over the previous year, but taking inflation in account it is almost the same as in the previous budget.

“The healthcare sector was expecting provision of starting new healthcare facilities in the budget. However, there is no mention in the budget to promote this. This will hinder the growth of healthcare sector and make health for all a distant dream. In the last few budgets too, the government has promised opening of more hospitals and medical colleges but nothing has materialized yet. What has happened to those announcements?” said the press note.

The only silver lining in the healthcare budget is the enhancement of salary of anganwadis, the note added.