Consumers will benefit from this year’s budget, especially people who need dialysis.
Consumer Council CEO Premila Kumar says people who need to have dialysis done three times a week at the cost of $250 per session will now pay much less.
The Health Ministry was allocated $3.5 million to subsidize the cost of dialysis.
Treatments will be offered at $75 for patients with household incomes of below $30,000 while those with higher incomes will now pay $150.
Kumar says a lot of dialysis patients have been knocking on their door for help and now the reduced costs will give a lot more comfort to the families of people who need dialysis.
She says consumers will also benefit from reduced tax on imported fruit and vegetables.
Kumar says concessions that are given in an indirect form are more beneficial to consumers, for example pensioners travelling for free is an indirect concession.
She says these kinds of concessions hit the consumers directly.
Kumar says when it comes to traders, that is where the problem lies because often traders do not pass the reductions down to consumers.
