Healthcare Financing: Who is paying?
Distilled Policy Brief
- Public health expenditure in India remained constant at approximately 1.3% of GDP between 2008 and 2015, increasing marginally to 1.4% in 2016-17, which is significantly lower than the world average of 6%.
- Out of pocket expenditure accounts for roughly 70% of total health expenditures in India, with about 52% of these out of pocket costs directed toward medicines.
- The National Health Policy, 2017 proposes increasing public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
Public health expenditure in India stood at approximately 1.4% of GDP in 2016-17, while out of pocket expenditure constitutes about 70% of total health expenditure, with medicines forming the highest share (52%) of out of pocket costs.
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Analyze the structural challenges in India's healthcare financing, highlighting the high share of out of pocket expenditures and the low public health spending relative to the National Health Policy targets.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
According to the National Health Policy, 2017, what is the target for public health expenditure as a percentage of GDP by the year 2025?
- [A] 1.4% of GDP
- [B] 2.0% of GDP
- [C] 2.5% of GDP
- [D] 3.0% of GDP
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
The policy explicitly proposes raising public health spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The other figures are either the current level (1.4%) or unrelated targets.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.