Pacific Specialist Health (PSH) Care Hospital founder and CEO Parvish Kumar has called for the inclusion of tax incentives for health service providers to local and overseas patients in the 2025-2026 National Budget.
Mr Kumar suggested this while delivering his submission during the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry budget forum last week.
“We propose that the next fiscal budget include tax incentives for health providers that serve both local and foreign patients,” he said.
“At least VAT waiver or a VAT refund scheme, just as it was provided for under the Tourist VAT Refund scheme.
“VAT refund or waiver for medical tourism will give the industry further price point advantage on global platforms, and for locals, it will reduce out-of-pocket expenditure further.”
Mr Kumar said these medical investment incentives would assist local operators in healthcare development and proposed that Government support local charitable foundations to provide free medical procedures to the needy.
“A healthy workforce is a productive workforce. Every dollar spent preventing a disability or downstream healthcare premature death saves far more in social welfare, lost productivity and costs.
“We, therefore, seek the support of both Government and corporate donors to champion this cause, and call for dedicated tax exemptions for companies contributing to such healthcare foundations.”
Mr Kumar said the PSH received patients from as far as the US, Italy, Germany, Australia and the Pacific who were travelling to Fiji’s shores for procedures that would otherwise be offered elsewhere at exorbitant costs.
“This is medical tourism in motion with PSH Hospitals leading the charge but for medical tourism to scale up, we must look beyond infrastructure,” he said.
