How does India count its health spending
This article explains the methodology behind India's National Health Accounts (NHA) and how the government tracks health expenditure. It emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between out-of-pocket expenses and government-funded care to accurately assess financial protection for citizens.
The latest National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India, 2022–23, made it to the news because of the reported decline to 43.2% in out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health spending. When families spend less from their pockets during illness, it may denote better financial protection. But to understand what has really changed, one must further ask a basic question: how does India count health expenditure in the first place? For instance, a statement such as “₹1lakh spent on health” is not enough, may mean a family is paying ₹1lakh to a private hospital for surgery, or a State government is spending ₹1lakh on procuring medicines for a primary health centre, or an insurance scheme reimbursing a hospital.
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