BENGALURU: The current state of healthcare among the working population of India has shown alarming trends, with 90 per cent of employees not prioritising their health, a recently released survey report showed.
The survey, titled ‘Health Report of Corporate India 2023’ was released by Bengaluru-based Plum, an insurtech company. It stated that 59 per cent of the employees admitted do not undergo an annual health checkup, while 90 per cent did not regularly visit doctors to monitor their health. The report highlighted the neglect of preventive healthcare measures has long-term implications for both individuals well-being and overall health.
It also noted that India’s medical inflation rate stands at one of the highest in Asia, at 14 per cent. This inflationary pressure on healthcare cost has resulted in 71 per cent of employees bearing the brunt of healthcare expenses from their own pockets, affecting their financial stability.
Saurabh Arora, co-founder and CTO, Plum, said, “An average person spends 90,000 hours working. That’s almost a third of their life. Employee health should be a top priority for organisations, not only from a humanitarian perspective but also as a strategic investment in their workforce. Just health insurance is not enough - companies should adopt comprehensive healthcare benefits that accommodate insurance, primary, and preventive care.”
While 522 million individuals were estimated to be employed in 2022, and projected to be growing to 569 million by 2030, the report revealed that access to healthcare services (in the form of insurance) remained restricted, with only 15 per cent of them receiving any form of support.
Despite advancement in technology, only 12 per cent of companies provide telehealth services to their employees. The survey report was based on responses of over 700 employees and the company’s telehealth data of over 30,000 consultations over a period of six months.