Breaking Down the Financial Burden of Health Expenses in India

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.