The Indian Medical Association (IMA), national president and member of the National Medical Commission, Dr. Sahajanand Prasad Singh, has urged the Union government to withdraw the 5% GST on hospital room services as it would ultimately put an additional burden on patients. He stated that the GST would be a big burden on hospitals as they had already been facing many financial problems with the steep hike in maintenance costs due to the upward revision of hospital overall rents, electricity charges, and salaries of doctors and staff.

The IMA is strongly opposed to a 5% GST on hospital room rents that exceed $5,000 per day per bed without an Input Tax Credit (ITC). Dr. SNP Singh stated that an IMA high-level delegation would meet with Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to seek GST exemption and other health-care-related issues.

He added that the healthcare industry is in a deep financial crisis with unprecedented maintenance costs. In this background, the government’s support is needed for the industry. He further added that the association is hopeful that the government will respond positively to the issue of GST exemption.