Recovering from high medical inflation requires a multi-pronged approach:

1. Regulation: The government’s proposed National Commission for Controlling Medical Inflation Act can help regulate costs of medicines, tests, and procedures.

2. Insurance Penetration: Encouraging wider health insurance coverage can spread financial risk and make treatment more affordable.

3. Price transparency: Making healthcare costs clearer can empower patients to make informed decisions.

4. Telemedicine: Expand telemedicine with remote or online diagnostics. This allows consultations with specialists remotely, reducing travel costs and strain on major hospitals.

5. Community Health Champions: Train local residents for basic health screenings and education. This empowers communities, identifies issues early (reducing expensive later treatments), and creates local healthcare jobs.

6. Preventive Healthcare Push: Prioritize preventive healthcare with government-subsidized checkups and healthy lifestyle campaigns. Early detection means less expensive future interventions.

7. Government-Industry Partnerships: Partner with pharmaceutical companies to develop and manufacture essential drugs in India, lowering reliance on expensive imports.

8. Medical Tourism Flip: Become a medical tourism destination for specific treatments, leveraging skilled professionals and lower costs to generate revenue for further healthcare improvement.

The above mentioned strategies leverage technology, empowers communities, focuses on prevention, and utilizes existing resources to create a more sustainable and affordable healthcare system. While achieving entirely free healthcare like Germany or Norway might be a long-term goal, India’s existing public health system can be strengthened for better affordability.

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