Srinagar, Aug 22: Jammu and Kashmir has Rs 42,746 private childbirth cost in the private sector, and over half of births are through C-section, both higher than accepted norms.
Now a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has called for standardisation and regulation of treatment costs in private hospitals, bringing the issue of maternity care affordability here into sharper focus.
The latest 176th Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare on ‘Affordability and Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities in Public and Private Sector’ released on August 7 has important takeaways for J&K.
The committee has recommended the immediate formulation of a mechanism to standardise and cap the costs of essential treatments, diagnostics and routine procedures across private hospitals.
It has cited wide disparities in healthcare costs and the burden of out-of-pocket expenditure on households.
The panel has noted that the latest NSO survey puts average private hospitalisation expenditure at Rs 50,508, compared with Rs 6631 in public facilities.
It has highlighted the substantial difference between public and private healthcare expenditure, and pointed to childbirth as one area where the cost gap is particularly pronounced.
The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) report reveals that 51 percent of births in J&K were through Caesarean section in 2023-24.
This is sharply up from 41.7 percent recorded in NFHS-5, and the latest figure is nearly twice the national average of 27.2 percent.
Interestingly, J&K’s high C-section rate is not an issue of the private sector alone.
The government hospitals account for more than 80 percent of institutional deliveries in J&K, and 48.6 percent of deliveries carried out in these facilities are through C-section.
This maternity-care pattern cannot be explained simply by the financial incentives.
However, data from the National Sample Survey on healthcare expenditure show that childbirth in J&K carries a substantial financial burden.
The strain on pockets is particularly high for families using private facilities.
The latest leg of this survey showed that in government hospitals, childbirth cost Rs 3867 in J&K, and this cost escalated to Rs 42,746 in private hospitals.
The all-India averages of corresponding costs are Rs 2299 and Rs 37,630.
By all means, J&K collectively is spending more on childbirths than elsewhere in India.
Healthcare experts are of the opinion that there are two important issues that J&K healthcare administration must work on.
First, when a large majority use public hospitals for childbirth and the C-section rate remains exceptionally high, what measures can be put in place to audit birthing methods?
Second, when childbirth costs, especially in private facilities, are more than the national average, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that every surgical delivery is medically necessary?
Also, do the systems need to audit and cap prices of procedures to protect families from high costs?
The issue is not merely financial but a public health anomaly.
The CS rates above 10-15 percent are not associated with reductions in maternal and newborn mortality, as per WHO.
Medical experts have also cautioned that unnecessary surgical deliveries can expose women to risks including infection, excessive bleeding and anaesthesia-related complications.
That said, Caesarean delivery is a critical and potentially life-saving intervention when medically indicated.
