India

India’s Public Health Spending Triples, Household Costs Drop to 42.7%

By Priyanka Sharma

India’s government health expenditure rose from ₹1.30 trillion in 2013‑14 to ₹4.14 trillion in 2023‑24, nearly tripling over the decade. The share of total health spending financed by households fell from 64.2% to 42.7% in the same period, according to National Health Accounts estimates released by the Union health ministry. The ministry said the shift reflects progress toward a more accessible, affordable and financially protective system. Public health spending’s share of total expenditure increased by 14.9 percentage points, while per‑capita public spending grew 2.8 times, from ₹1,042 to ₹2,959. Primary‑care facilities received ₹1.53 trillion to support Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which provide preventive care, screening for non‑communicable diseases, medicines and diagnostics at the community level. Social security health spending, including government‑funded insurance schemes such as Ayushman Bharat‑Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, state health insurance schemes, social health insurance and medical reimbursements for government employees, rose from 6% of total health expenditure in 2013‑14 to 11% in 2023‑24. Private health insurance also grew, reaching 10.2% of total health expenditure in 2023‑24 from 3.4% a decade earlier, reflecting deeper insurance penetration. Private insurance spending totaled ₹97,167 crore, with employer‑provided group policies at ₹55,666 crore and individual policies at ₹41,501 crore. Government‑funded schemes accounted for ₹33,385 crore and social health insurance programmes such as CGHS, ESIS and ECHS for ₹39,078 crore. The ministry credited programmes such as the Free Drugs and Diagnostics Initiatives, the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana and AMRIT pharmacies, along with price controls by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, for lowering treatment costs. The 2023‑24 estimates are the eleventh edition of the National Health Accounts report, prepared by the Technical Secretariat at the National Health Systems Resource Centre under the System of Health Accounts 2011 framework.