‘Out-of-pocket health spending still high, despite govt. chipping in’
- The Economic Survey 2022-23 says that Almost half of all health spending in India is still paid by patients themselves directly at the point of treatment, though out-of-pocket expenditure has dropped as the government’s share of spending on health went up significantly after 2013-14.
Highlights
- Government’s Share in the total health expenditure rose to 40.6% by 2018-19, the latest year for which data are available.
- There was a concomitant decline in out-of-pocket expenditure to 48.2% in 2018-19.
Out-of-pocket expenditure
- Out-of-pocket expenditure: The money paid by households at the point of receiving health care.
- This occurs when services are neither provided free of cost through a government health facility, nor is the individual covered under any public or private insurance or social protection scheme.
Govt. hikes spending
- For 2018-19, India’s total health expenditure was estimated 3.2% of the GDP and ₹4,470 per capita.
- This includes current and capital expenditures incurred by the government and private sources, including external funds.
- Government health expenditure for that year amounted to 40.6% of the total, while out-of-pocket expenditure remained marginally higher at 48.2%.
- In States such as Uttar Pradesh, the out-of-pocket estimates were as high as 71.3%.
Falling short
- Under the Health Ministry’s largest cashless health insurance scheme — the Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Yojana — approximately 21.9 crore beneficiaries have been verified, including 3 crore beneficiaries verified using State IT systems.
Prelims Take Away
- Ayushmaan Bharat Jan Arogya Yojana