Very High Cost On Medical Expenditure In India, Will Government Or Private Health Care Reduce It?

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare) stated in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha recently that as per a recently published research paper based on cross-sectional analysis of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data, 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty in a single year because of having to fund their own health care, and out of this, 38 million fell below the poverty line due to spending on medicines alone. It is true that the total expenditure on out-patient care is significantly higher than the in-patient care.

Further, as per the 71st Round (January-June 2014) of the National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) on Health in India, purchase of medicine accounted for around 72% in rural sector, and 68% in the urban sector, of the total expenditure on non-hospitalized treatment of ailments and if we add with this indoor or hospitalised expenditure than data are of…