Who Gets Health Insurance Coverage in India? : New Findings from Nation-wide Surveys.

How far the coverage of health insurance available to Indians, both in rural and urban areas? Who can afford to pay for health insurance coverage? This study examines health insurance scenario of India by analyzing the trends and patterns and household characteristics of health insurance policy holders. The study utilized available data from the latest rounds of two nationally representative surveys DLHS (2007-08) and NFHS (2005-06). Only 5 percent of the households in India were covered under any kind of health insurance. Within the insurance schemes, the state owned health schemes are the most subscribed (39.2), followed by the Employee State Insurance Scheme (17 percent). Among the households belonging to the lowest economic categories, less than 3 percent were covered by any health scheme or health insurance. However, the recent trends show that the community health insurance targeting poor households are becoming much popular and it may be the most appropriate way of supporting the families vulnerable to catastrophic health spending.