Question : Out of Pocket Expenditure

Will the Minister of HEALTH ANDFAMILY WELFAREbe pleased to state:

(a) whether it is true that the Government has still not achieved public funding for health at around three percent
of the country’s GDP;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(c) whether out of pocket expenditure still accounts for 60 percent of all health expenses in the country, if so, the steps taken to reduce this financial burden on the population; and

(d) the expenditure on primary healthcare centres in Ludhiana during the last three years including the current year?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b) According to the latest National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for the year 2015-16, the Government health expenditure is 1.18% of GDP.

(c) As per National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates 2015-16, the household’s Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) on health accounts for 60.6% of Total Health Expenditure (THE) in the country.

The steps taken to reduce OOPE are as follows:

Public Health & Hospitals being a State subject, the primary responsibility for providing affordable health services lies with respective State/UT Governments. However, in order to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of the people particularly poor people of the country, the Government of India has taken several steps which inter-alia include:
Government of India launched Ayushman Bharat Yojana in 2018 comprising of two components namely:
I. Provision of Comprehensive Primary Healthcare through Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and
II. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
Ayushman Bharat-HWCs envisages providing promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative care with the goal to provide Comprehensive Primary Health Care including both maternal and child health services, non-communicable and communicable diseases through provision of free essential drugs and diagnostic services through Health and Wellness Centres. 1.5 lakh Sub Health Centres and Primary Health Centres will be transformed to Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) in rural and urban areas by 2022.
Under the PMJAY, coverage upto Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approx. 50 crore persons) is envisaged. This scheme covers poor and vulnerable families based on deprivation and occupational criteria as per Socio Economic Caste Census data.
In addition, the ongoing schemes of NHM, PMSSY etc. also strive to reduce financial burden incurred by the population on health.
(d) The MOHFW does not maintain district-wise data on expenditure on primary heathcare centres.