Breaking Down the Financial Burden of Health Expenses in India

By HEOR Staff Writer

July 14, 2023

A recent study published in India, showed that over 50% of health expenses are financed through out-of-pocket payments.

This places a huge financial burden on households, especially with the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, injuries, and infectious diseases. This study using data from the National Sample Survey (2017-2018) revealed that 49% of households experienced catastrophic health expenditure and 15% fell into poverty due to these out-of-pocket health costs.

It’s clear that there is a need to increase health insurance uptake, consider outpatient services under health insurance, and strengthen the public health sector to alleviate this burden.

Reference url

Recent Posts

Expansion of Community Health Programs by Novartis to Tackle Global Health Disparities

By João L. Carapinha

April 9, 2026

Novartis’ ambitious scale-up of community health programs aims to close critical gaps in cardiovascular and cancer care. Announced on April 9, 2026, the initiative will expand these community health programs from 11 to more than 30 countries by 2030, including five major U.S. cities, with a stron...
Impact of Insulin Copay Caps on Medicare Beneficiary Health and Spending

By João L. Carapinha

April 7, 2026

In this update, we highlight a JAMA Internal Medicine article that analyzed the real-world impact of insulin copay caps on Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes. According to a new study, these policies have successfully lowered out-of-pocket insulin costs and improved adherence among exist...
100% Tariffs Impacting Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and National Security

By João L. Carapinha

April 3, 2026

President Donald J. Trump has imposed tariffs on patented pharmaceutical products and their ingredients, using tariffs pharmaceutical manufacturing policy to protect national security and strengthen U.S. supply chains. The move applies a baseline 100% tariff on patented pharmaceuticals, with lowe...