The Hindu Editorial Analysis
29 August 2025
Building health for 1.4 billion Indians
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
Topic :GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education
Context
India’s health care is at a turning point — it must evolve from a privilege into a guaranteed right for every citizen.
Introduction
India’s health-care system is at a critical crossroads, with the dual challenge of expanding access for underserved populations while keeping care affordable amid rising costs. Meeting this goal requires a comprehensive and integrated framework—one that strengthens insurance coverage, leverages scale, embeds prevention within primary care, accelerates digital adoption, ensures regulatory clarity, and attracts sustained investment. By pursuing such a systemic and interconnected approach, India has the opportunity to design a health-care model that is not only inclusive and financially sustainable but also a global benchmark for innovation and equity.
Insurance as the foundation of affordability
- Pooling risk remains the most effective way to make costly care affordable. Even modest premiums of ₹5,000–₹20,000 (individuals) or ₹10,000–₹50,000 (families) can unlock coverage worth several lakhs, protecting households from catastrophic financial shocks.
- Despite this, penetration is low — only 15%–18% of Indians are insured, with a premium-to-GDP ratio of 3.7%, far below the global average of 7%. Yet, opportunity is rising as gross written premiums stand at $15 billion (2024), projected to grow at 20%+ CAGR till 2030.
- Affordability cannot rely on insurance alone. True impact comes when payers, providers, and patients partner to expand coverage, promote prevention, and position insurance as a tool for everyday health security, not just emergencies.
- India has developed unmatched efficiency in care delivery — for example, MRI machines in India perform several times more scans daily than in the West, enabled by doctor-patient ratios, workflow design, and infrastructure use.
- The next challenge is to extend this efficiency to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, closing access gaps and setting a global benchmark for scale, innovation, and inclusion.
- Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) has transformed access, covering nearly 500 million people with ₹5 lakh per family for advanced care. Its impact is evident, with timely cancer treatments rising nearly 90% for beneficiaries.
- To reach the next 500 million, expanding private hospital participation in government-backed schemes is crucial. Success depends on fair reimbursements and transparent processes, ensuring both provider viability and patient value.
Prevention as the most powerful cost-saver
- A study in Punjab revealed that even insured families faced catastrophic expenses for outpatient care of diabetes, hypertension, and other NCDs.
- The solution lies in redesigning insurance to cover outpatient and diagnostics, alongside a nationwide prevention campaign.
- Public participation is essential — people must adopt a preventive mindset, control risks, stay alert, and spread awareness. Every rupee invested in healthier lifestyles saves multiples in treatment costs, especially if schools, employers, communities, and citizens work together.
- India, an early adopter of telemedicine, is now leveraging Artificial Intelligence for detecting early signs of illness, triaging diagnostic reports, and enabling remote consultations — improving outcomes and enhancing the productivity of medical staff.
- Digital health is bridging access gaps: a specialist in metros can guide treatment for patients in distant villages.
- When combined with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, these innovations can ensure universal health records and continuity of care across the country, paving the way for inclusive, resilient health care.
Regulation and trust as the missing link
- Health-care innovations in India show promise, but challenges persist.
- Insurers in New Delhi are considering a 10–15% premium hike due to pollution-driven respiratory illnesses, showing how environmental factors raise health-care costs.
- Without safeguards, rising costs could erode affordability for millions.
- The Finance Ministry has urged IRDAI to strengthen claims settlement and grievance redressal, recognising that trust drives insurance penetration.
- Without confidence in fair and transparent claims, households will not prioritise health insurance.
- Robust regulation, paired with fair pricing, is essential to deepen coverage and build confidence.
- In 2023, India’s health sector attracted $5.5 billion in private equity and venture capital, fuelling digital health, pharmacy networks, and hospitals.
- However, capital remains skewed toward metros, leaving smaller cities underserved.
- The true test lies in directing investment toward tier-2 and tier-3 cities, building primary networks, and training specialists, ensuring that growth leads to inclusive health care access.
Conclusion
India’s health care system stands at a crucial turning point. To truly serve its people, insurance must extend beyond hospitalization and cover everyday care, while providers scale their services more efficiently. A stronger focus on prevention can reduce long-term costs, and technology must be harnessed to expand equitable access. With coordinated investment and bold public–private partnerships, India can build a system that is not fragmented or exclusionary but universal, resilient, and sustainable. Health care must no longer be seen as a privilege; it should be secured as the right of every Indian.