India’s health spending triples to ₹4.14 lakh crore, but out-of-pocket share drops to 42.7%: NHA
India's government health expenditure has tripled over the last decade, reaching ₹4.14 lakh crore in 2023-24. Consequently, the share of out-of-pocket medical expenses for households has significantly declined, falling from 64.2% to 42.7% during the same period.
Why it matters
The shift indicates a major improvement in financial protection for Indian citizens against healthcare costs, though experts warn that unregulated privatization continues to create access inequities.
NEW DELHI The Union government’s health expenditure more than tripled to ₹4.14 lakh crore in 2023-24, from ₹1.30 lakh crore in 2013-14, according to the latest National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates released by the Health Ministry. The estimates also showed the share of out-of-pocket spending by households dropped by 21.5 percentage points over the same period, highlighting a significant transformation in the country’s healthcare financing. National Health Accounts figures indicate high burden of health care costs on people National Health Accounts figures indicate high burden of health care costs on people As per the latest figures from the National Health Accounts Estimates for India 2022-23, out of pocket expenditure is nearly half of the current health expenditure. Experts flag continued high level of unregulated privatisation, leading to major inequities in access to healthcare.
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in