How much does health care cost in India?

Overview 

At least 30% of the Indian population, or 40 crore individuals in India, are deprived of any financial protection for health.  

Status of diseases in India 

An unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity and use of tobacco and alcohol are the major causes of many diseases.  
 
Deaths because of non-communicable or lifestyle diseases (NCDs) have surged from around 38 per cent in 1990 to 62 per cent in 2016. 
 
Obesity has grown from 19 per cent to 23 per cent between National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 and National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 in urban and rural areas. This raises the risk of Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes, and hypertension.  

Healthcare Expenses in India 

The health care expenses in India generally consist of expenditures for doctors, hospitalisations, medicines, health insurance, medical tests, medical aids, etc and health enhancement services.  
 
Healthcare expenses are growing at a rate higher than medical inflation, and it drives everyone to have health insurance coverage, which not only helps you to save your emergency funds and save of a lifetime in case any medical emergency occurs to you or your near and dear ones but also supports you to deal with rising medical costs.  

Out of Pocket Expenditure

 Out-of-pocket expenditure is the money paid directly by households when getting health care. This happens when services are neither offered free of cost through a government health facility nor is the individual covered under any private or public insurance. Patients and their families bear eighty per cent of health care expenses as out-of-pocket payments. 

Solution to manage health care expenses   

You can avoid large medical bills, which can cause financial hardship and even medical bankruptcy, just by purchasing high-quality health insurance. 

Health Insurance   

Health insurance is an agreement between a policyholder and the insurance company that covers medical expenses that might occur due to accident, illness, or injury.  
If you purchase a health insurance policy, the insurance company will bear a few or all medical expenses, against which an insured is obliged to pay a certain amount called a premium. Only 35% of Indians are covered by health insurance. 

Why Health Insurance? 

• Health insurance provides financial protection against health shocks.  
• It helps you to get higher-level medical treatment without worrying about high medical costs. 
• Offers specialised coverage for critical illnesses. 
• Covers road emergency ambulance expenses.  
• Comes at an affordable premium for youngsters. 
• Provides a cashless claim benefit, which allows you to take care of your health instead of worrying about hefty medical bills. 
• Protect your savings during medical emergencies. 
• It protects your savings during medical emergencies. 
• It gives benefits under Section 80D. 

Risk of not buying health insurance

Loss of Savings: Out-of-pocket expenditure can wipe out a person’s savings. 

Big Healthcare Expenses: The absence of health insurance coverage and any unintended hospitalisation from an accident or illness can result in big healthcare bills. 

More prone to debt: When you have significant medical bills, it can lead to the necessities, as mentioned earlier, and even borrowing money on loans or from family and friends to pay them. 

Missing Quality Care: When you don’t have a sound financial background, you may skip some aspects of healthcare, delay the treatment, or select lower-cost medical treatment.  

Increased Anxiety: The absence of financial protection can create a lot of stress and anxiety. Lack of health insurance keeps you vulnerable to catastrophic health expenditures from adverse health events. 

Why Star Health Insurance?

The Star Health Insurance policies provide multiple insured choices ranging from INR 50,000 to INR 2 cr. The policies are created for each age group and directed at senior citizens, females and youngsters. 

They offer a variety of new-age benefits like telemedicine services, e-medical opinion, wellness programs, and rewards, which can be further employed to avail discounts on renewals, among others. The majority of the policies have a co-payment of 10% to 20% if any individual is entering above 60 years old. 

Best Part of Star Health Insurance 

• Sum Insured: up to INR 2 crore 
• Cashless Network Hospitals: 12,000+ 
• Total agents: More than 5.3 lakh 
• Total claim settled: More than INR 60 lakh 
• Benefits: Restoration Benefit, Maternity Coverage, Coverage for Day Care and Modern Treatments. 
• Lifelong Renewability: Yes 

Conclusion 

Health insurance is the best pathway to receive quality and efficient healthcare services during medical exigencies. However, less consumer awareness about the benefits of health insurance and health insurance products blocks its penetration.

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