The Challenges Confronting Public Hospitals in India, Their Origins, and Possible Solutions

Table 12

Rural urban inequities in public health expenditure of selected states for the year 2002-03.

State/Type of expenditure		Medical care*	Public health	Family welfare^#	MCH	Capital**	Total	Rural/Urban population
Maharashtra	Rural	5.71%	60%	49.97%	60%	0.78%	32.51%	66.57%
	Urban	94.29%	40%	50.03%	40%	99.2%	67.49%	42.43%
Mizoram	Rural	51.9%	51%	63.87%	51%	100%	55.68%	50.47%
	Urban	48.1%	49%	36.13%	49%	0.00%	44.32%	49.53%
Orissa	Rural	46.89%	80%	90.20%	80%	53.4%	58.89%	85.01%
	Urban	53.11%	20%	09.80%	20%	46.5%	41.11%	14.99%
Punjab	Rural	42.47%	66%	65.46%	0	0.00	45.00%	66.08%
	Urban	57.53%	34%	34.54%	0	100%	54.60%	33.92%
Tamil Nadu	Rural	18.96%	54%	73.07%	54%	75.0%	35.01%	55.96%
	Urban	81.04%	44%	26.49%	44%	24.7%	64.66%	44.04%
Madhya Pradesh	Rural	39.47%	73%	72.80%	73%	90.6%	50.03%	73.54%
	Urban	60.53%	27%	27.17%	27%	9.34%	49.96%	26.46%

Source: CEHAT, 2006 [10]. *Including health services both allopathy and other system of medicines, minor head includes ESIS, medical education department drug manufacture; ^#excluding MCH Program; **including capital expenditure of medical, public health, and family welfare. Proportions of rural and urban population are taken from CBHI, 2005 [11]. Note: demarcation for the rural and urban health budget was done from finance accounts 2002-03 for respective states. For about two-thirds of the expenditure, there is a clear rural-urban indication in the budget; for the rest, CEHAT used their functional knowledge of program implementation to allocate proportions to rural and urban areas.