NEW DELHI: The total health expenditure in India has risen to 3.8 per cent of the GDP, still lower than the ten-year peak of 4 per cent.
Notably, out-of-pocket expenditure, which refers to payments made by individuals and families, has decreased from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 39.4 per cent in 2021-22.
The National Health Accounts Estimates for 2020-21 and 2021-22 was released on Wednesday by the Union Health Ministry, which claim to be based on an enhanced methodology that provides a more comprehensive and precise account of the government's health expenditures.
Over the years, the government's contribution to health expenditures has increased significantly.
Specifically, the government's share in health expenditures has risen from 1.13 per cent of the GDP in 2014-15 to 1.84 per cent in 2021-22.
Additionally, the share of government health expenditures in total health expenditures has also shown a significant increase, climbing from 29.0 per cent in 2014-15 to 48.0 per cent in 2021-22.
The component of private health insurance expenditure as a percentage of total spending has been going up consistently from 3.4 per cent in 2013-14 to 7.4 per cent in 2021-22.
The ministry said that the reduction in out-of-pocket expenses was partially due to an increase in social security spending on healthcare.
Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, said that “the methodology taken for these NHA estimates has improved over the last nine years and has resulted in a more robust and accurate account of the government’s expenditure on Health.”
“The decline in Out-of-Pocket expenditure out of Total Health Expenditure from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 39.4 per cent in 2021-22 reflects a very positive indicator,” he said.
"A robust social security mechanism ensures that individuals will not face financial hardship and the risk of poverty as a consequence of accessing essential healthcare services. The share of social security expenditure includes government-funded health insurance and medical reimbursement to government employees," said a health ministry statement.
The proportion of total health expenditure allocated to social health insurance programs has shown significant growth, rising from 5.7 per cent in 2014-15 to 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. This increase reflects a substantial shift in funding towards social health insurance initiatives over the past few years.
Dr Paul also highlighted that “more than Rs 1 lakh crore savings have accrued from the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY” and “this has had a positive impact on the recent NHA estimates.”
He also stated that other schemes like the Free Dialysis scheme, launched in 2015-16 have benefited 25 lakh people.
Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said that a substantial increase has been noticed in the health expenditure of the government while the out-of-pocket expenditure has come down which is a good sign.
He highlighted that the total health expenditure has also made a significant increase which reflects the emphasis of the government towards health.
The report provides a systematic description of the financial flows in India’s health system by different sources, how the money is spent, how healthcare is provided, and the nature of healthcare services that are used.