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  • Essay / Healthcare in India

    For people living in urban India, healthcare is a very small issue. They say India faces many other problems bigger than healthcare, such as economic development, infrastructure, employment and border conflicts with Pakistan. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay1. Rural-urban divide: At the same time, the opportunity to enter the market may be extremely ripe, but India currently spends only about 4.2% of its national GDP on medicines and to healthcare establishments (compared to 18% for the United States). Additionally, there is also a huge difference between rural and urban healthcare, which compounds the problem. 7% of India's total population still lives in rural areas and has very little access to adequate healthcare and medicines. Most people living below the poverty line rely on public health facilities. One such government-sanctioned health care program is the National Urban Health Mission, which has proven to be ineffective. While urban centers have a large number of private hospitals which provide good quality services but at a very high price which is not affordable for many. These health facilities have better doctors, access to almost all essential medicines and better clinics.2. Need for efficient payment mechanisms: Apart from the rural-urban divide, another key aspect of the current healthcare facility scenario in India is the ease of out-of-pocket spending (around 70%). This implies that the vast majority of Indian patients pay their healthcare facilities in cash directly, without any payment terms. As noted in the World Bank and National Commission on Macroeconomics report, only 5% of India's total population has health insurance. The low cost of health insurance has made this service accessible only to people with high incomes. Administratively, the Indian government plays a very important role in running several health insurance programs for the population at high risk of health problems and also regulates private insurance markets. There are currently few such programs, such as the Community Health Insurance Program for the population living below the poverty line (such as Medicaid in the United States) and the Life Insurance Company Policy (LIC ) for the elderly (like Medicare in the United States). All of these programs are controlled by General Insurance Corporation, a government-controlled organization. Under these schemes, people have to pay cash upfront and get reimbursed by filing a claim.3. Demand for Primary Health Care and Basic Infrastructure: One of the major challenges facing India is to address basic health issues related to HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhea. Additionally, most children are born underweight and around 7% die before their fifth birthday. In addition, a very small part of the population has access to quality sanitation. On healthcare, the Indian government spends only around 30% of the country's total healthcare budget. The need for qualified medical graduates continues to grow, particularly in rural areas that are unable to attract new graduates for financial reasons. A significant percentage of graduates also go abroad to pursue studies.