The Road To Universal Health Coverage In India

By Author: insightscaeindia
Total Articles: 19
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Progress and Pitfalls

Universal health coverage is the most critical goal for a health system globally; it would ensure that everyone should be covered under necessary health services without getting exposed to financial hardship. The quest for UHC in India was a long-cherished dream steeped in the health policy of the nation since its independence.

Historical Context and Policy Framework

The commitment of India to UHC dates back to the early discussions on health policy, notably the report of the Bhore Committee, which conceptualized a publicly financed national health service. Various initiatives materialized since then, with important milestones being the National Health Policy and the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The latter consists of two major components: Health and Wellness Centres for comprehensive primary care; and a National Health Protection Scheme to provide financial risk protection for secondary and tertiary care.

Yet, notwithstanding such efforts, the Indian journey to UHC has been well and truly tortuous. First, the health system is dualistic in character, with a chronically underfunded, ...
... often inefficient public sector on the one hand and an explosively burgeoning private sector on the other. The latter raises concerningly high out-of-pocket expenditures for patients.

Progress Achieved

In the recent years, certain key health indicators have shown improvement in India. The improvements in maternal and infant health indicate improved utilization of healthcare services. Physical access to healthcare has also improved significantly, where there is increased seeking of care when sick, and there are remarkable rises in institutional births.

The introduction of Ayushman Bharat has been particularly effective. It is a scheme that aims at covering millions of vulnerable families for hospitalization costs. It looks to alleviate part of the financial burden arising from healthcare costs and ensure access to necessary medical services.

Persistence of Challenges

Despite these achievements, several barriers stand in the way of attaining UHC in India:

High out-of-pocket expenditure: households pay a large percentage of their total health expenditure out-of-pocket. This therefore has pushed many into debt or financial distress as a result of spending on health. This may be exacerbated by a lack of public health facilities.

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