Assam Health Minister Promises 100% Free Medicines, Reality Falls Short at GMCH

Last fortnight, Assam's Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ashok Singhal made a stellar assurance: each and every government hospital in the state from then onwards shall have 100 per cent stock availability of core drugs.

Speaking at a press conference in Dispur on August 26, he espoused the government's ongoing initiatives to see not a single patient departs from a hospital without receiving the needed medicines. Technology-facilitated monitoring mechanisms were presented as the pillar of such a strategy, monitoring medicine availability throughout hospitals. On paper, it seemed a step in the right direction towards augmenting Assam's public healthcare system.

However, the ground situation is a different picture altogether. Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) reports indicate the promise of free medicine is far from universal. The concerned attendants of the patients have complained that prescriptions made by doctors rarely come through because the central pharmacy lacks the necessary medication. Accusations of medicines not being given at the pharmacy counter not only percolate against patient care but also erode citizens' confidence in government hospitals.

This gap in policy pronouncements and ground level is not unprecedented, but it is very disturbing. Healthcare is not a question of pronouncements or surveillance system—it is a question of real access, particularly for those who are most vulnerable and who have no option but to go to public hospitals. A patient coming to GMCH on a prescription for a life-saving medication must not be turned away for deficiencies in supply chain management or bureaucratic objections.

The contrast is highlighted more when seen against recent fiscal reforms in the healthcare landscape at the national level. Recently, in a Diwali gift, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, rationalized GST in a way that brings relief to the entire healthcare continuum: all private life insurance policies are exempt from GST; critical diagnostic equipment, oxygen devices, and eye aids are taxed only 5%; and 33 life-saving medicines are fully exempted from GST. The new rates, cleared in the 56th GST Council meeting, will take effect on September 22, 2025 — the first day of Navratri, ensuring clarity for patients, families, and healthcare providers. These are commendable steps that ease financial burdens across India. Yet, no tax relief can substitute for the physical absence of medicine at a hospital counter.

Assam's challenge is straightforward: practice must catch up with policy. As much as the government initiative for implementing technology-intensive monitoring mechanisms is appreciable, they need to go hand in hand with stronger mechanisms for accountability, frequent audits, and real-time reactions in a hospital setting. It is then that the promise for free-of-charge primary medicine can go beyond a headline.

Public confidence in healthcare is attenuated. Every unfilled prescription erodes it, however benevolent the ministerial announcements. Assam possesses the means, the budget, and technological infrastructure to close this gap—it is high time they are brought to productive use. Free drugs are not merely a poll plank; they are a lifeline for millions who are not in a position to pay for the private sector.

The question is: Will the government act promptly to ensure that the GMCH and such hospitals are a fulfillment of the promise made by the minister, or are such announcements yet again symbolic moves, similar to Diwali-season GST cuts—resplendent on paper but short on practical impact for the citizen who is already at the hospital counter?

Assam's healthcare system is at a crossroads. It can go towards real reform and affordable care; or towards empty promise and renewed outrage. Patients and families are owed nothing short of the former.

Also Read: Assam Govt Ensures 100% Essential Drug Supply in State Hospitals: Ashok Singhal