Assessing Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability for India’s Poor

Source-This post on Assessing Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability for India’s Poor has been created based on the article “Reducing the poor’s health burden” published in “The Indian Express” on 9 August 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-2- Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context- This article reviews data from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES 2022-23) to assess healthcare access and affordability for the bottom 50% of India’s population. It highlights a major decrease in poverty since 2011-12 and examines how well these households cope with financial shocks, especially those related to medical costs.

What is the Methodology used to reviews data from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES 2022-23)?

A) Quantifying households subjected to adverse medical shocks (hospitalization)

B) Measuring vulnerability by analyzing the proportion of monthly household expenditure devoted to medical expenses

C) Comparing household spending with and without medical costs shows that high medical expenses can reduce funds available for other needs. This may lower overall consumption and impact welfare.

A detailed article on All India Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 can be read here.

What are the Key Findings for Bottom 50% of the Population?

1) Increased Healthcare Accessibility -The percentage of households facing hospitalization costs increased from 17% in 2011-12 to 22% in 2022-23. In rural areas, this rise was from 18% to 23%, while in urban areas, it grew from 16% to 20%.

2) Healthcare Affordability –

A) Without hospitalization- The share of health expenses in monthly household spending increased slightly, from 3.3% to 3.6%.

B) With hospitalization– The proportion of monthly household spending on health dropped significantly from 10.8% to 9.4%.

C) Rural-Urban Differences –

In rural areas, spending on health (excluding hospitalization) rose slightly from 3.4% to 3.6% of household budgets. However, spending on health (including hospitalization) fell from 11.15% to 9.14%.

In urban areas, spending on health (excluding hospitalization) rose from 3.2% to 3.6%, while spending (including hospitalization) fell from 10.3% to 9.9%.

3) Change in Consumption Status- In 2011-12, 40% of the poorest 50% of households faced a decline in consumption status due to hospitalization. However, by 2022-23, despite more frequent hospitalizations, this figure dropped to 33%.

What do these findings signify?

1) In the past decade, healthcare has become more accessible and affordable for the poorest 50% of India’s population. The reduced risk of declining consumption status due to hospitalization shows a significant drop in vulnerability.

2) These improvements are linked to public health policies, especially the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which helps reduce hospitalization costs for the poor. This program has been especially helpful for rural households and families with young children and elderly members.

Question for practice

What are the main findings for the bottom 50% of the population, and what do these findings mean?