Authors : Monica Bhatia, Sachin Mittal, Alok Bansal
DOI : 10.18231/2394-2770.2018.0017
Volume : 5
Issue : 2
Year : 0
Page No : 107-112
Health insurance is a mechanism that provides financial coverage for sickness or injury. Over the past few decades, India’s achievement in terms of health improvement has been remarkable but health insurance industry is still way behind many other developing countries. This study examines the changes that have taken place in the Indian health insurance industry over a period of time and the issues and challenges the industry faces. The study utilized available data from more than 35 researches and relative studies conducted with respect to the health insurance sector. Not even a quarter of population in India is covered under any health insurance scheme. The penetration rate and expenditure on health insurance has been quite low. Penetration rate can be increased by means of micro-insurance, group insurance, government regulations over private sector and more schemes to reach out the rural masses with high competitive and service oriented delivery mechanism. However, the recent schemes and initiatives by government targeting the rural areas are becoming popular and may prove to be the appropriate way of supporting the society as a whole thereby saving it from the ruinous expenditure.
Keywords: Health insurance, Health care system, Penetration, Evolution of health insurance