India Ranks 3rd in 'Out Of Pocket' Expenditure on Health

The high OOP health expenditure rate in India points to the increasing health issues among the common people. The WHO once said that high medical bills cause 3.2 percent Indians to fall below poverty line. There are about 70 percent Indians who spent their whole income on health care and medicines.

The Planning commission also agrees that high OOP expenditure on health leads to poverty. It is recognized as a growing issue since 39 million Indians are pushed to poverty due to ill health every year. In 2004 around 30 percent people in rural India were unable to go for any treatments, restrained by financial difficulties while 20 percent of diseases were untreated in urban areas because of the same reason, reported a recent study in the Lancet.

The Commission's expert group on universal health coverage said "We estimate that an increase in the public procurement of medicines from around 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent of GDP would ensure universal access to essential drugs, greatly reduce the burden on private out-of-pocket expenditures and increase the financial protection for households," as reported by TOI.