70% Indians don't have health insurance
Seventy per cent of India's
population have no health insurance and the country is short by two million
beds compared with the global benchmark. This has been revealed in a whitepaper
released by a leading health sector body on Tuesday.
The report ‘Aarogya Bharat 2015’, released by
NATHEALTH, calls for increase public spending on healthcare to 2.5 per cent to
3 per cent of GDP and apportions a greater share of public spending to
prevention, including mass screenings and primary care coverage by 2025.
NATHEALTH has been created to improve access and
quality of healthcare and has leading Healthcare, Medical Technology,
Diagnostic service providers and Health
Insurance Companies as stakeholders.
"Increased
investment in healthcare would create a 'win-win' scenario by increasing the
number of years that Indians can be productive and healthy, thereby fueling a
continuous cycle of economic growth. Fewer sick days translates to increased
productivity, higher employment and an estimated 15 million to 20 million
additional jobs in the country by 2025," said Karan Singh, head of Bain's
healthcare practice in Asia-Pacific and co-author of the report.
The body also introduced a unique initiative of
an 'Ethics Pledge', a declaration by the industry leaders across diverse
healthcare segments in partnership with Indian Medical Association (IMA), to
build a robust and transparent platform to promote ethical practices in the
healthcare ecosystem.
"India can adopt universal access to
essential healthcare driven by private sector-led provision with the Government
playing the role of primary payer and provider in remote and underserved
areas," said Anjan Bose, Secretary General of NATHEALTH.
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