Evaluating Health Insurance Programmes: An Insurance Cascade Framework
Catastrophic health spending in India has remained high over the past 15 years despite the introduction of large and comprehensive social health insurance schemes (Pandey et al 2018, 2018b). Understanding why these schemes have not improved financial risk protection...
Health issues and health care expenditure among elderly in India
The study synthesises the empirical research studies and discusses the health need of the elderly population, healthcare utilization and healthcare expenditure. Despite an increasing feminization of India's older population, women's health in later life and the health...
Going Granular: Equity of Health Financing at the District and Facility Level in India
Health financing equity analysis rarely goes below the state level in India. This paper assesses the equity and effectiveness of public spending on health in the state of Odisha. It identifies the weak link between district spending and district need, proxied by...
Facilitators and barriers to participation of the private sector in health insurance in India
The study findings suggest that social service, competition and increased clientele were the common facilitating factors for enrolment in government health schemes. Low & delayed reimbursement, bribe to clear payment, limited services covered, and administrative...
Illness and Wage Loss: Longitudinal evidence from India
The paper quantifies the economic burden of illness due to wage loss and medical care spending, as well as differences in them across the socio-economic distribution. The study used data from Village Dynamics in South Asia (VDSA) survey and the Indian Human...
Addressing data and methodological limitations in estimating catastrophic health spending and impoverishment in India, 2004–18
The study data from the health and consumption surveys of National Sample Surveys over 14 years to overcome these limitations and estimated the incidence and intensity of CHE and impoverishment using the capacity-to-pay (CTP) approach. The incidence of CHE for...
“Demand Side” Health Insurance in India: The Price of Obfuscation
In this article, Prof Stefan Ecks argues that the new Government Financed Health Insurance schemes (GFHIs) in India are part of a neo-liberalization move toward “demand-side” healthcare which is shifting more decision-making responsibilities onto individuals rather...
The relationship between health expenditure, CO2 emissions, and economic growth in the BRICS countries
In this study, the researchers used Fourier autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to study the correlation between health expenditures, CO2 emissions, and GDP fluctuations in BRICS countries from 2000 to 2019. The study presents some interesting findings and...
Health budget in light of pandemic
This paper is an attempt to demonstrate the planned reforms in the health budget, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is to be seen how the financial allocation for the health sector impacts the health of the Indian people. Access this paper here
Intersection of class, caste, gender and unmet healthcare needs in India: Implications for health policy
This study identifies the factors contributing to unmet healthcare need and investigates the intersectionality of class with caste and gender in determining unmet need. The analysis informs that class inequality is fundamental to having unmet needs with the limited...
A systematic review on the impact of public-funded health insurances in India on health care utilisation and financial risk protection
This review identified and provided information on the impact of different PFHI schemes on healthcare utilisation, Willingness to Pay and financial risk protection of the beneficiaries. The study suggests that various central and state schemes increased the...
Healthcare now, pay later: A new way for distress financing in India
Chris George explores an innovative health financing model - embedded finance wherein healthcare services can be availed using a credit card with Zero Percent Interest Rate, thereby addressing the challenges of distress financing for health. Read more about it...
How philanthropic collaboratives can help the vulnerable
Since the pandemic, the number of India’s philanthropic collaboratives has more than doubled. These collaboratives mobilise funding from foreign and domestic philanthropy, high-net-worth individuals, corporate social responsibility funders, bilateral and multilateral...
The pandemic’s hidden cost: Much-hyped health insurance scheme failed to cover hospital bills
Tabassum Barnagarwala writes about the poor coverage of PMJAY, India's largest government-financed health insurance scheme, the reasons for poor coverage and the health impacts. Read more here
Singapore’s health care expenditure is expected to significantly increase by 2030 due to population ageing
Due to population ageing, healthcare will account for the bulk of increases in government social spending by 2030 as it is predicted that the older population will account for 25 percent of Singaporeans. It is estimated that if the current healthcare spending,...