The highlights of the Revised Budget 2026-27, presented by Chief Minister and Finance Minister V.D. Satheesan, for the public health sector includes the announcement of a proposed new health insurance scheme with enhanced coverage and a project to integrate the State’s health facilities to develop a unique health-care ecosystem.

The government will prioritise public health and intervene to reduce the high out-of-pocket expenditure on health, Mr. Satheesan said, presenting the Budget. An allocation of ₹2,076.02 crore has been made for medical care and public health in the Budget. A ₹100-crore project to establish Kerala Health and Life Sciences City was the major announcement for the sector.

The Kerala Health and Life Sciences City is envisioned as an integrated healthcare ecosystem developed by seamlessly integrating multi-specialty hospitals, medical colleges, training centres, research laboratories, diagnostic centres, rehabilitation facilities, and requisite ancillary facilities for patients and their attendants.

Mr. Satheesan said that this will deliver quality health-care services and catalyse medical tourism, which will also boost employment opportunities in the health sector.

The Oommen Chandy health insurance scheme will provide comprehensive healthcare coverage of up to ₹25 lakh for all families, towards which ₹10 crore was allocated for initial expenses.

Autonomous status

A notable announcement made by Mr. Satheesan was that selected medical colleges will be granted autonomous status and that the government will support these institutions to attain AIIMS-level standards in services and academic excellence.

Mr. Satheesan has allocated ₹895.59 crore for water supply and sanitation, which is suddenly in the limelight now that it is well-established that the spike in water-borne diseases in the State is a reflection of the poor quality of groundwater and sanitation facilities. New laboratories will be established to ensure the quality of drinking water, he said.

A second medical college in Thiruvananthapuram, a project taken up by the UDF government 10 years ago and shelved by the LDF government later, is being revived. So is the former proposal for a new medical college at Haripad . An allocation of ₹100 crore is made for these purposes.

Mr. Satheesan said that steps will be taken to improve infrastructure, staffing and equipment at the already established medical colleges at Kasaragod, Idukki, Wayanad and Manjeri, which are still in nascent stages.

Aid for health check-ups

Another new scheme announced is the provision of financial assistance for annual health check-ups for individuals aged 40 years and above, so that early detection of health problems is possible.

A school health brigade to teach and train students in the adoption of healthy lifestyle practices; a Golden Hour project to provide emergency trauma care within the golden hour through digitisation and improved coordination between hospitals; ‘Reach Kerala’ health tourism scheme coordinating the activities of Tourism and AYUSH departments; tribal health clusters and special coastal care units for health-care delivery in tribal and coastal regions; and mobile lab/diagnostic facilities in rural areas also found mention in the Budget proposals for health sector.