Healthcare costs are forcing Indians into debt and distress sales

About 8%-9% of low the poverty line due to healthcare costs, says expert.

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Only 41% of Indian households said at least one family member has health insurance, according to the latest National Family Health Survey data

In 2014, the last year for which data is available, the average cost of inpatient care per hospitalisation was Rs 26,475 in urban areas and Rs 16,676 in rural areas.

Out-of-pocket expenditure includes expenses borne directly by a patient when insurance does not cover the full cost of the health good or service, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. If the financing of healthcare becomes dependent on out-of-pocket expenditure, its burden is shifted towards those who use the services, “possibly from high to low income earners, where health care needs are higher”.

In India, Out-of-pocket expenditure on health was more than the government’s expenditure on health (48.2% compared to 40.6%), according to the Economic Survey 2022.

In rural India, only 84.7% of the sanctioned doctor positions in district hospitals and 79.4% of the positions in sub-district hospitals were filled, as per the Rural Health Statistics 2021-’22. Specialists like oncologists are hard to find, 

High out-of-pocket expenditure (more than 29% of the total health expenditure) increases the number of people below the poverty line by 1.8%, according to this paper by economists at the Universiti Putra Malaysia. Over 63 million Indians are faced with poverty every year due to health costs alone, according to government estimates.

“Insurance has not really helped reduce out-of-pocket expenditure. We need more regulation to ensure that there is no room for exploitation of beneficiaries with health insurance,” said Chhaya Pachauli, an activist with Prayas, an organisation that works on securing health security.

by 

26/03/2023