Health Cards Launched; Stents and Dialysis Prices Set to Drop

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury unveiled an ambitious healthcare reform programme in the national parliament while placing a massive BDT 9.38 lakh crore national budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year on Thursday. 

Marking his first budget as finance minister, the proposed outlay is around 19 percent higher than the original BDT 7.90 lakh crore budget for the outgoing fiscal year, aiming to stabilise the economy, accelerate growth, and strengthen public services.

A major cornerstone of this budget is a dramatic shift from a treatment-centred model to a prevention-focused and digitally integrated system, backed by a proposed health sector allocation of BDT 69,409 crore—nearly doubling the revised allocation of BDT 35,477 crore from the previous fiscal year.

To systematically transform the country's healthcare architecture, the government announced plans to establish modern primary healthcare units in every union and urban ward across Bangladesh. 

Minister Chowdhury disclosed that this program directly fulfills the new BNP government's electoral commitments. 

"Consistent with the commitments made in the electoral manifesto, we have formulated plans to establish one modern primary healthcare unit in each union and one or more in each ward of urban areas throughout Bangladesh, and implementation is already underway," he said.

These facilities are designed to function as accessible, affordable, and prevention-focused centres. 

Each primary healthcare unit will be supported by three community-level health service centres or community clinics, where trained community health workers will provide preventive healthcare counselling, maternal and child health services, nutrition support and essential healthcare at the grassroots level. 

To expedite this expansion, the minister informed parliament that 192 unused properties under the Local Government Division have already been transferred to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to be developed into primary units. 

"These centres will be operated under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to ensure efficient management, quality service and swift programme implementation," he added, noting that strengthening primary care will reduce dependence on overcrowded hospitals and significantly cut out-of-pocket expenditure.

A central pillar of this universal health coverage framework is its structural reliance on digital integration, highlighted by the introduction of a universal digital Health Card for every citizen. 

Presenting the proposal, the Finance Minister detailed: “Under universal health coverage, every citizen will be issued a modern ‘Health Card’, linked to an Integrated Patient Management System and an Integrated Patient Referral System.” 

He explained that this centralized network will ensure that patients’ past treatment histories, medical investigation reports, prescriptions, and vital health data become instantly accessible at any primary, secondary, or specialized facility nationwide. 

Highlighting the clinical benefits, the minister stated, “This will significantly improve the quality of care, reduce medical errors and unnecessary duplication of prescriptions, and enable patients to receive faster, more orderly, and more effective services.”

The Finance Minister noted that the Health Card and primary care network will restore discipline and accountability to a medical system previously crippled by institutional decay. 

He remarked that years of neglect, corruption, political interference and a lack of accountability had severely weakened the health sector, resulting in overcrowded hospitals and a growing trend of citizens seeking medical treatment abroad. 

Minister Chowdhury reemphasized that the government views healthcare spending not as an expenditure, but as a vital investment in human resource development and national economic progress, declaring that ensuring no poor family is financially devastated by medical costs remains a central objective.

In a tandem move to offer immediate financial relief to critical care patients, the proposed budget has completely withdrawn value-added tax (VAT) and duties levied on essential cardiac and kidney care equipment. 

The government has abolished the existing 10 percent VAT imposed at the supplier level on heart rings (stents). 

As a direct result of this tax relief, the retail price of an individual heart ring is expected to drop by up to around BDT 20,000, bringing immense financial relief to cardiovascular patients.

For patients suffering from chronic kidney conditions, the proposed budget has eliminated the 15 percent VAT and the 5 percent advance tax (AT) on the import of dialysis filters. 

Financial analysts estimate that this exemption will potentially reduce the cost of a single dialysis session by around BDT 800 per patient. 

Furthermore, the existing 7.5 percent advance tax on the import of hemodialysis blood tubing sets used in kidney treatments has also been completely withdrawn. 

Officials from the National Board of Revenue and the Health Ministry noted that these coordinated tax cuts are structurally designed to provide direct relief to millions of patients battling long-term cardiovascular and renal ailments across Bangladesh.