What ails government health insurance schemes
6 years, 6 months ago

What ails government health insurance schemes

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana launched in Ranchi on Sunday may well turn out to be India’s grandest experiment in state-funded health insurance, but it is certainly not the first of its kind. Over the past few years, several government- The analysis, based on data from the last National Sample Survey Office health survey conducted in 2013-14, shows that access to a government health insurance scheme may have had uneven effects across income classes and regions. Eighty percent of those facing catastrophic health shocks in India lack insurance cover, the analysis shows. Though it is likely that access to state- This suggests that India’s experiments with state- A state-wise analysis shows that in three states with high insurance coverage—Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala—a majority of the relatively poor households facing a catastrophic health shock was covered under a government health insurance scheme. In three other states with a relatively high insurance coverage—Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Rajasthan—roughly one-fourth of the relatively poor households facing a catastrophic health shock belonged to the ranks of the insured.

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History of this topic

A status check of universal health coverage in India
1 week, 2 days ago

A status check of universal health coverage in India

The Hindu  

A little over six years ago, what has been proclaimed as the world’s largest health assurance scheme, namely, the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, was rolled out in the face of hitherto scarce evidence of publicly funded health insurance affording significant levels of financial risk protection, particularly to the marginalised. Frequently, inpatient care insurance is linked to …

Kerala Budget: Not a substantial allocation for health care sector
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Kerala Budget: Not a substantial allocation for health care sector

The Hindu  

The outlay of the State Budget presented by Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal in the Assembly on health care, which excludes health-related expenditure such as water and sanitation, is around ₹3,000 crore, which accounts for 1.74% of the proposed total government expenditure. The issue of poor government spending in the health sector had been plaguing the public health-conscious State like …

Economy Survey 2025: Insurance coverage lower than global average, notable gaps
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Economy Survey 2025: Insurance coverage lower than global average, notable gaps

Live Mint  

MUMBAI : India's insurance penetration at 3.7% is much lower than the global average of 7%, and there is a “notable gap" in the country's insurance coverage, said the Economic Survey 2024-25 on Friday. Citing Swiss Re Institute’s projections, the survey said India’s insurance sector is expected to grow 11.1% and become the fastest-growing market among G20 nations over the …

Economic Survey 2025: AB-PMJAY reduced out-of-pocket-expenditure from 62.6% to 39.4%
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Economic Survey 2025: AB-PMJAY reduced out-of-pocket-expenditure from 62.6% to 39.4%

The Hindu  

The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, India’s health assurance scheme, providing financial protection for secondary and tertiary healthcare, has contributed to significant reductions in out-of-pocket expenditure through an increase in social security and primary health expenditure, with over ₹1.25 lakh crore in savings recorded, said the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on Friday, January 31, 2025, by …

Why Union Budget 2025 can enhance insurance and healthcare access for all
2 months ago

Why Union Budget 2025 can enhance insurance and healthcare access for all

Firstpost  

While we are getting ready for the forthcoming budget, it is the time to address reforms that might make insurance and healthcare more inclusive, reasonably priced, and easily available. Reducing GST rates on health and life insurance premiums will assist to relieve family financial load and provide these important protections within the reach of more households. Further improving access to …

The US’ angst over health insurance: Lessons for India
2 months, 3 weeks ago

The US’ angst over health insurance: Lessons for India

Live Mint  

The recent murder of the head of a prominent health insurer in the US, allegedly fuelled by resentment toward the industry's practices, has cast a harsh spotlight on claims policies that have left many policyholders dissatisfied. In 2021-22, health insurance surpassed motor insurance to become the largest segment by premiums among Indian non-life insurers. For instance, Star Health, the second-largest …

Healthcare cost inflation soaring, raising health cover premiums
3 months ago

Healthcare cost inflation soaring, raising health cover premiums

The Hindu  

Since COVID-19 pandemic, India has been witnessing a surge in healthcare cost inflation making assured and standardised healthcare unviable for several sections of the society and pushing up health insurance premiums. Speaking to The Hindu, Sumit Bohra, president of the Insurance Brokers Association of India notes that currently in India the rising healthcare cost and growing health insurance premiums are …

Soaring inflation pushes up health insurance premiums; makes standardised care costlier
3 months ago

Soaring inflation pushes up health insurance premiums; makes standardised care costlier

The Hindu  

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, India is witnessing a surge in healthcare cost inflation, making assured and standardised healthcare unviable for several sections of the society and pushing up health insurance premiums. Speaking to The Hindu, Sumit Bohra, president of the Insurance Brokers Association of India notes that currently in India, rising healthcare costs and growing health insurance premiums are feeding …

The challenge of universal health coverage
3 months, 1 week ago

The challenge of universal health coverage

The Hindu  

The ongoing national conversation on what India needs to do for universal health coverage often misses the complexity of multiple health systems and the unique challenges they bring. Not the solution Government health expenditure in West Bengal, which was ₹1,346 per capita in 2019-20, is only about 61% of the estimated ₹2,205 required to offer UHC. The story is no …

Evolution of the health care policy framework in India
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Evolution of the health care policy framework in India

Hindustan Times  

This paper traces the history of the evolution of India’s health care policy framework, focusing on its major objectives, challenges faced, and outcomes emerged. The key themes prevalent across most of these policies and specific initiatives included: increasing public health spending and reducing out-of-pocket or catastrophic health spending; addressing rural-urban inequalities in healthcare; developing primary health care; and achieving universal …

The burden of health care on India’s poorest
7 months, 2 weeks ago

The burden of health care on India’s poorest

Hindustan Times  

In recent years, the Indian government has made significant strides in reducing the burden of health expenditure on the common citizen. A particular focus of the government has been to reduce the burden of severe economic shocks due to “catastrophic” health care expenditure such as hospitalisation. In order to understand the character of catastrophic health expenditure, Artha Global’s Centre for …

Budget 2024: Health insurers seek more attractive tax incentives—and a regulator
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Budget 2024: Health insurers seek more attractive tax incentives—and a regulator

Live Mint  

In the interim budget for 2024-25 presented in February, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman increased the government’s allocation towards the health sector by nearly 14%. “To enable better retail health insurance penetration, the government can consider categorising them under a separate HSN code and lowering the tax to 5%," says Parimal Heda, chief investment officer, GoDigit General Insurance. The tax on …

30% People Don't Buy Health Insurance Due To High Premium: Study
1 year, 2 months ago

30% People Don't Buy Health Insurance Due To High Premium: Study

News 18  

A new study by healthcare provider Pristyn Care found that 3 out of 10 people across cities in India don’t buy health insurance due to high premiums. The study highlighted that Covid-19 pandemic with its unpredictability and deadly consequences underscored crucial lessons in healthcare and how the system needed to be more resilient and adaptable in the coming times. The …

Ashok Gehlot's expansion of health cover under Chiranjeevi scheme 'impractical', says BJP leader
1 year, 4 months ago

Ashok Gehlot's expansion of health cover under Chiranjeevi scheme 'impractical', says BJP leader

The Hindu  

‘ BJP leader Deepti Rawat Bhardwaj on Thursday slammed the Ashok Gehlot government over its performance and questioned the practicality of Congress’ promise of increasing the medical coverage under the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme to ₹50 lakh. Ms. Bhardwaj, asked the State government to reveal the number of people who took health cover above ₹5 lakh and claimed that the …

15% of people below 45 years fail to get health insurance because of THIS
1 year, 7 months ago

15% of people below 45 years fail to get health insurance because of THIS

Live Mint  

There has been a constant rise in the number of lifestyle diseases among youngsters and adults. The prevalence of these diseases leaves young adults bereft of opportunities to take health insurance. On average, 15% of people aged below 45 years fail to get any health insurance policy because of pre-existing diseases like heart disorders, uncontrolled diabetes, chronic liver and lung …

Out-of-pocket health expenditure in India: Inter-state variations
1 year, 7 months ago

Out-of-pocket health expenditure in India: Inter-state variations

Hindustan Times  

Adequate public investment in health, by ensuring better affordability and availability of health care, is crucial for sustaining a resilient public health system. Chart 2 In five states, high public health spending is related to low OOPE, while in four states, low public health spending is related to high OOPE. In eight states, low public health spending is related to …

KASP issues: CAG report puts State Health Agency in the dock
1 year, 7 months ago

KASP issues: CAG report puts State Health Agency in the dock

The Hindu  

Kerala’s health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat-Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhati, has undoubtedly been a major fiscal disaster, with huge cost overruns and high rate of overdue claims. According to the CAG report, as on November 22, the total unprocessed claim amount across the country is ₹6,052.43 crore, of which Kerala accounts for unsettled claims worth ₹985.28 crore, from 8,43,790 claims. The …

Voluntary health insurance and its expansion
1 year, 8 months ago

Voluntary health insurance and its expansion

Hindustan Times  

With the launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, insurance is no doubt set to play a dominant role in India as seen in other countries, in its path towards universal health coverage. These schemes form multiple risk pools extending from social health insurance like the Central Government Health Scheme and Employee State Insurance Scheme for formal employees to private …

More than 90 million Indians spend ‘catastrophic’ 10-25% of household expenses on healthcare
1 year, 8 months ago

More than 90 million Indians spend ‘catastrophic’ 10-25% of household expenses on healthcare

Hindustan Times  

Healthcare expenditure of around 90 million Indians has crossed the ‘catastrophic’ levels – a state of financial condition where health spending exceeds 10% threshold of household consumption, posing a threat to maintain the subsistence needs. According to the Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework Progress Report 2023, a total of 31 million people living in families spend more that a …

What you can do to reduce your out-of-pocket-expenditure on healthcare
1 year, 10 months ago

What you can do to reduce your out-of-pocket-expenditure on healthcare

Live Mint  

The young advertising executive was on his way home from office when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. First, the hospital where he was admitted said that he had to immediately pay ₹50,000 towards admission—It informed him that he was not eligible for cashless admission since the hospital was not part of the insurer’s network. While people with …

Budget 2023: What Insurance Industry Demands to Boost Insurance Penetration in India
2 years, 2 months ago

Budget 2023: What Insurance Industry Demands to Boost Insurance Penetration in India

News 18  

The Union Budget 2023 — the most eagerly awaited financial event of the year — is just around the corner. Since the growth in the insurance sector has the potential to directly aid India’s global aspirations, Budget 2023 could prove to be a catalyst for its reformation. Here are a few expectations the insurance sector has from this year’s Budget: …

Alleviating the scourge of private healthcare
2 years, 3 months ago

Alleviating the scourge of private healthcare

The Hindu  

India ranks poorly on multiple health financing indicators. Public health insurance schemes have often been reproached for imposing unreasonable package rates on empanelled private providers with a weak regard for actual costs of care. For instance, some countries like Canada have conceived regional health boards that organise care equitably within regions, exploit economies of scale, and bring down healthcare costs. …

The Missing Link in India’s Journey Towards Universal Health Coverage
2 years, 3 months ago

The Missing Link in India’s Journey Towards Universal Health Coverage

News 18  

Out-of-pocket-expenditure remains a challenging part of India’s health system story. Further, according to NITI Aayog’s report ‘Health Insurance for India’s ‘Missing Middle’, the ‘missing middle’ constitutes at least 30% of the population which may not get covered under any government subsidised health insurance schemes like PM-JAY, social health insurance schemes like the Employee State Insurance Scheme or private voluntary health …

A heartening health update
2 years, 6 months ago

A heartening health update

Hindustan Times  

The latest report of National Health Accounts — it has data for 2018-19 — shows that India continues to make progress towards reducing the burden of health spending on household budgets. This is a heartening development because the poor are more likely to gain when government spending rather than private health insurance brings about a reduction in OOP spending. As …

Health Savings Accounts for India - Another string in the bow?
2 years, 11 months ago

Health Savings Accounts for India - Another string in the bow?

Hindustan Times  

Out-of-pocket-expenditure in India continues to account for more than half of its current health expenditure with significant state-level variations. Catastrophic health spending varies enormously across and within countries and is consistently high among the poor, less educated, uninsured, rural households, female-headed households, households with members suffering from chronic illness, and households with older people. While increasing the depth of particular …

Defining a new pathway for enhanced healthcare
3 years ago

Defining a new pathway for enhanced healthcare

Hindustan Times  

The challenges faced in the past by the Indian healthcare system pale in comparison with those brought on by the pandemic. Globally it can be seen that government expenditures on health need to be more than 70% to 75% of total health expenditures to deliver truly high-quality healthcare services. A review of the November 2021 State of State Finances report …

Loss of income, rise in health expenses: How the Covid pandemic has made Indians poorer
3 years, 3 months ago

Loss of income, rise in health expenses: How the Covid pandemic has made Indians poorer

India Today  

Sample these: 65.6 per cent households in lower-income countries reported financial reasons for not accessing healthcare during the pandemic; global poverty rates have increased for the first time in decades; 9.7 crore additional people have been pushed to extreme poverty in 2020 due to Covid. “The global poverty rate has increased for the first time after the 1997-98 Asian financial …

More a private sector primer than health-care pathway
3 years, 4 months ago

More a private sector primer than health-care pathway

The Hindu  

The central government’s flagship health insurance scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, aims to extend hospitalisation cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per annum to a poor and vulnerable population of nearly 50 crore people. Apart from AB-PMJAY and State-level government health insurance schemes, small segments of the Indian population are covered under social health insurance …

‘More Money for Health’: Financing Universal Health Coverage in India
3 years, 6 months ago

‘More Money for Health’: Financing Universal Health Coverage in India

Hindustan Times  

Any discussion of the pathways that India needs to take towards Universal Healthcare would be incomplete without a clear understanding of how it is to be financed. However, perhaps the most important challenge that we face in our UHC journey is that while the proportions being allocated to healthcare by each state government from its annual budget vary greatly and …

Did the poor gain from India’s health policy interventions?
3 years, 8 months ago

Did the poor gain from India’s health policy interventions?

Hindustan Times  

This article examines whether health policy interventions and accelerated health investments in India during 2004-2018 could close the gap in inequity in health care utilisation and access to public subsidy by different population groups. Employing Benefit-Incidence Analysis framework, this paper advances earlier evidence by highlighting estimates of health care utilisation, concentration and government subsidy by broader provider categories and across …

The health nudge is merely a mirage
4 years, 1 month ago

The health nudge is merely a mirage

Live Mint  

HYDERABAD : The Union Budget, as expected, focused on healthcare, recognizing the havoc that the pandemic has caused in the country. With current enrolment under RSBY and other state-run insurance schemes well below the target of 500 million, increased allocation of funds was a necessary step in order to expand health insurance coverage. In a year when everything should have …

Economic Survey | ‘High out-of-pocket expenses for health can lead to poverty’
4 years, 1 month ago

Economic Survey | ‘High out-of-pocket expenses for health can lead to poverty’

The Hindu  

India has one-of-the highest level of Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures contributing directly to the high incidence of catastrophic expenditures and poverty, notes the Economic Survey. The Survey also underlines that OOPE for health increases the risk of vulnerable groups slipping into poverty because of catastrophic health expenditures. The Survey added that for enabling India to respond to pandemics, the health infrastructure must …

Experts expect tax benefits u/s 80D to increase to ₹1 lakh in Budget 2021
4 years, 2 months ago

Experts expect tax benefits u/s 80D to increase to ₹1 lakh in Budget 2021

Live Mint  

Even prior to the global pandemic, health insurance was a growing sector, however, the pandemic has spotlighted the indispensable nature of having a safety net when it comes to healthcare costs. "Given the global focus on health, we anticipate that this year’s union budget will have larger thrust on health reforms," says Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance. He …

Stopping the slide of health care in India
4 years, 3 months ago

Stopping the slide of health care in India

The Hindu  

India’s health care is a dark echo chamber. What makes insurance and private health care an egregious combination is that the insurance backup incentivises hospitals to expand the bill but the patients do not get attended to in their best interests. In any case, insurance of secondary and tertiary care pushes out long-term investment by the state and people and …

Reversing health sector neglect with a reform agenda
4 years, 7 months ago

Reversing health sector neglect with a reform agenda

The Hindu  

Two countries which lead in the COVID-19 cases tally in the world today, namely the United States and India, are also the ones where the need for health-care reform post COVID-19 has been most keenly felt. However, the foundational aspects of U.S. health care, such as a fragmented private insurance landscape and a love for expensive specialised care, could hardly …

Needed, a transfusion for public health care
4 years, 9 months ago

Needed, a transfusion for public health care

The Hindu  

A news channel in India alleged recently that several private hospitals in the country were “exposed” by a “sting operation” to be levying fees in excess when COVID-19 patients went to them for care. A mirror to public care The reason for this abundance of private health care is obviously the lack of adequate public health care. The Indian government …

India is poised for deep structural health reforms
4 years, 11 months ago

India is poised for deep structural health reforms

Hindustan Times  

Despite a history of a weak health system, India was near an inflection point on health care reforms even before the outbreak of the coronavirus disease. India’s weak health care is a legacy of limited attention to it after Independence, and the multiple priorities of a young nation. India’s per capita income and health expenditure are similar to those of …

$80 out of pocket per year: Health burden in developing nations
5 years, 8 months ago

$80 out of pocket per year: Health burden in developing nations

Hindustan Times  

People in developing countries spend half a trillion dollars—$80 per person—out of their own pockets to access health care services each year because the governments don’t spend enough, said a World Bank report released on Thursday ahead of the G20 summit. “The majority of developing countries will fail to achieve their targets for universal health coverage and the health and …

Standard health cover will help, but Irdai needs to plug the gaps
6 years, 1 month ago

Standard health cover will help, but Irdai needs to plug the gaps

Live Mint  

The thought is not new. Irdai’s new draft, released on 19 February, addresses this confusion by proposing a basic health insurance plan, named Standard Mediclaim Policy, which will be comparable across insurers. The importance of health insurance can’t be stressed enough, but with so much choice and with varying policy exclusions, it’s often difficult for customers to bring home a …

India’s health care sector needs fresh ideas
6 years, 2 months ago

India’s health care sector needs fresh ideas

Hindustan Times  

There are some interesting developments in progress within India. Adequate total expenditure on health care by citizens but over 50 million people returning to poverty each year because of health shocks, having to once again claw their way back up. In a field such as curative health care, given the severe challenges that are inherently associated with it and its …

The staggering costs of India’s failing health systems
6 years, 6 months ago

The staggering costs of India’s failing health systems

Live Mint  

Over the past few decades, rapid economic growth has allowed millions of Indians to lift themselves out of poverty. A Mint analysis of data from the last National Sample Survey Office health survey conducted in 2013-14 shows that 36 million households incurred health expenses that exceeded the annual per capita consumption of those households. Rural India accounted for 25 million …

Opinion | PMJAY: The promises and challenges of a bold experiment
6 years, 6 months ago

Opinion | PMJAY: The promises and challenges of a bold experiment

Live Mint  

The Narendra Modi government is better known for its economic programmes such as infrastructure and ease of doing business, than its social programmes. In contrast the Ayushman Bharat—Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, a health insurance scheme announced in the last budget, will only be launched on 23 September, towards the fag end of this government’s tenure. However, the promises and …

Taking a cue out of health insurance schemes down south
6 years, 6 months ago

Taking a cue out of health insurance schemes down south

Hindustan Times  

Ayushman Bharat, the government’s flagship health insurance scheme, has rekindled the hope for moving towards universal coverage of hospitalisation costs in India, but the initial spark was ignited by Yeshasvini, the health insurance scheme for rural farmers and peasants, initiated on a modest scale in Karnataka in 2003. The Tamil Nadu health insurance scheme spent about ₹225 per enrollee in …

Delhi rejects Modi govt’s Ayushman Bharat, plans to launch better health scheme
6 years, 7 months ago

Delhi rejects Modi govt’s Ayushman Bharat, plans to launch better health scheme

Hindustan Times  

Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government on Friday refused to be a part of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, saying the Centre’s flagship national health protection scheme would not offer cover to enough people and that the state would work towards implementing its own health insurance scheme instead. “The state government does not agree with the Centre’s health insurance scheme because it …

India's healthcare woes: Out-of-pocket medical expenses pushed 55 million into poverty in 2017, says PHFI study
6 years, 8 months ago

India's healthcare woes: Out-of-pocket medical expenses pushed 55 million into poverty in 2017, says PHFI study

Firstpost  

Out-of-pocket health expenses drove 55 million Indians – more than the population of South Korea, Spain or Kenya – into poverty in 2017. By Prachi Salve Mumbai: Out-of-pocket health expenses drove 55 million Indians – more than the population of South Korea, Spain or Kenya – into poverty in 2017, and of these, 38 million were impoverished by expenditure on …

Health spends can’t be left to chance
6 years, 8 months ago

Health spends can’t be left to chance

Hindustan Times  

Costs relating to healthcare have a feature that is very different from that of virtually all the other services such as education, food, and clothing. You are better off if you regularly put a fixed sum of money into a pool and relied on this to pay for unpredictable expenses Economic theory indicates that expenses that have such an uncertain …

Is the National Health Protection Scheme good public policy?
7 years ago

Is the National Health Protection Scheme good public policy?

Live Mint  

India recently announced an ambitious plan called the National Health Protection Scheme to provide government- So, is the NHPS a good idea? They found that people covered by insurance were more likely to seek healthcare for their health issues and symptoms, had better access to tertiary care hospitals, and had better post-operative outcomes likely due to seeking care at higher …

Not a prescription for the poor
7 years, 1 month ago

Not a prescription for the poor

The Hindu  

February 17, 2018 12:02 am | Updated 12:54 am IST The National Health Protection Scheme is being hailed as the biggest takeaway for the aam aadmi in this year’s Budget. The only real way to judge the potential of the NHPS is to review the empirical evidence pertaining to some of the existing publicly-funded health insurance schemes, particularly the Rashtriya …

National Health Protection Scheme will not help its intended beneficiaries
7 years, 1 month ago

National Health Protection Scheme will not help its intended beneficiaries

Live Mint  

It has been a fortnight since the Union finance minister announced the government’s vision of Ayushman Bharat, or the National Health Protection Scheme, assuring 100 million families of coverage of up to Rs5 lakh for secondary and tertiary care. It is a theoretical exercise to predict their likely reaction to the NHPS, based on the established correlation between economic capacity, …

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