What Rajasthan’s right to health law promises – and where it falls short

On Tuesday, Rajasthan became the first state in India to introduce a Right to Health Act.

In many ways, this is a landmark legislation as it makes access to healthcare a legal entitlement of every resident of the state.

Under the law, neither government nor private hospitals nor doctors can refuse a person seeking emergency treatment.

“It is a step in the right direction,” said health activist Dr Abhay Shukla, who advised the Rajasthan government in 2019 in drafting the bill. “We don’t know why the private sector is creating a hue and cry.”

Shukla was referring to protests by several doctor groups in the state, who fear that the law will make them vulnerable.

For the Ashok Gehlot government, which runs several flagship health schemes, the passage of the bill is an important step ahead of the approaching assembly elections.

But while the private sector has put up stiff opposition to the law, health activists, too, believe it falls short of its initial promise.

What the law says

The Act allows any resident in Rajasthan to seek out-patient or in-patient consultation, emergency transport, emergency medical care and emergency diagnostics in a private or public hospital.

Emergency treatment would include care in case of accidents, animal or snake bite, complications in pregnancy or an emergency defined by the...

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