Govt share in health expenditure rises significantly in 2017-18

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The share of government in total health expenditure rose to 40.8% in 2017-18, significantly up from 28.6% in 2013-14, according to a report

Quoting from the estimates of the National Health Accounts,  The Times of India has reported that the government spending on health as a share of total government expenditure increased to 5.1% from 3.7% between 2013-14 and 2017-18.

Out-of-pocket expenditure on health

Thanks to higher government spending and increased share of expenditure in private health insurance, there is a fall in out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), the report said.

According to the estimates, OOPE on health dropped as a percentage of the total health expenditure to below 50%.

While in 2017-18, 48.8% of expenditure on health was out-of-pocket, the same was 58.7% in the previous year and 64.2% in 2013-14.

Out-of-pocket expenditure on health is still much higher than the global average of approximately 18%, the report said, which noted that sudden health emergencies can push poorer households into poverty. According to NHA estimates, the share of government health expenditure in GDP rose to 1.3% in 2017-18 from 1.20% in the preceding fiscal year. It is still far below the target of 2.5% of GDP envisaged in the National Health Policy, 2017.

The share of social security expenditure on health, including health cover scheme programme, government-financed health insurance schemes, and medical reimbursements made to government employees, increased during 2017-18, said the Times of India report which further noted that the share in total health expenditure climbed to 9% in 2017-18 from 7.3% in 2016-17. The fall in out-of-pocket expenditure, according to the government, is due to increased utilisation of government health facilities and reduction in the cost of services at these facilities. The share of primary healthcare in the current government spending rose to 54.7% in 2017-18 from 51.1% in 2013-14, as per the report.