evaluating the impact of GST on healthcare service delivery and medical equipment supply chain

The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India has brought about changes in several business segments that include the healthcare industry and those involving the supply of medical equipment. This work assesses the impact of GST on the healthcare service delivery and on the flow of the medical equipment in terms of the changes in cost distributions and activities faced by firms. The main focus is to evaluate the impact that GST has had on the pricing systems, stock control and service segment of healthcare centers. Quantitative results on the costs were accompanied by qualitative interviews with managers and professionals in healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations. Process charts include an analysis of tax structures before and after implementation of GST, determining the critical areas in the acquisition of equipment used in this sector and measuring cost implication in health care services. Initial findings of the impact assessment reveal that even though GST has extended benefits in eliminating taxes on inputs, the cost has been passed in the form of indirect costs on compliance, transportation, and some other executory formalities. The changes have marginally increased the costs of healthcare, especially at the private facilities. It include detailed descriptions of the problems of transforming the new type of taxation for medical equipment supply companies. It also makes a number of contributions including policy insights for managing the intricacies of GST, practical suggestions for enhancing supply chain performance, and information for the healthcare industry about potential ways to avoid cost escalation. The analysis brings out findings suggesting that the cost of healthcare service provision has risen by between 7-10% through the other overhead costs such as compliance and logistics. Still there was a decrease in procurement costs of the medical equipment since the taxes on the raw material were relatively low making the net cost to the health care facilities to rise only by 5-7%. The research also presents a finding that supply chain gains 12% efficiencies as suppliers conform to the new tax system.