-Indian Medical Association as well as some doctors are opposing the proposed National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017. Recently some doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) invited the Union Health Minister for open debate on the bill. Currently this bill has been reffered to Parliamentary Standing Committee.
Why Doctors are opposing the bill?
-These doctors call this anti-poor, anti-people and putting the medical education in the hands of rich and powerful.
-The Bill will allow doctors practising alternative medicines, such as homoeopathy and ayurveda to, practise allopathic medicine after attending a short-term “bridge course. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is opposing this provision.
-There are almost 800,000 doctors in India and the National Medical Commission will have just 5 elected representatives from the doctors.
-Only Five doctors representatives will mean only five states in the proposed commission. Health and medical education being a concurrent list, it will be unfair to rest of the states.
Main provisions of the Bill: Mains provisions of proposed National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017 are:
1. The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017 bill was approved by the Central Government Cabinet on December 15, 2017. It was tabled in the Lok Sabha on December 27, 2017.
2. The Bill envisages to replace the Medical Council 1956 Act.
3. It seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with National Medical Commission (NMC). NMC will the top regulator of medical education in India. Within three years of the passage of the proposed Bill, state governments will establish State Medical Councils at the state level.
4. Proposed NMC will be a 25 member body comprising a Chairperson, a member secretary, 12 ex-officio members and 11 part-time members. Out of the 12 ex-officio members, 4 shall be presidents of the boards constituted under the act and remaining four shall be nominees from three ministries viz. Health, Pharmaceuticals, HRD and one from Director General of Health Services.
5. This bill also seeks to put in place a common entrance exam and licentiate exam, which all medical graduates will have to clear to get practice license.
6. It will also put in place a four-tier structure for the regulation of medical education. The 25 members National Medical Commission will be at the top of this structure.
7. For MBBS, students have to clear NEET, and before they step into practice, they must pass the exit exam.
8. The government, under the National Medical Commission (NMC), can dictate guidelines for fees up to 40% of seats in private medical colleges. This provision is aimed at giving students relief from the exorbitant fees charged by private medical colleges during admission.
