INDIA-Health Care Systems

Abstract

India has a vast health care system, but there remain many differences in quality between rural and urban areas as well as between public and private health care. The health care system in India is universal. Lack of adequate coverage by the health care system in India meant that many Indians turn to private healthcare providers, although this is an option generally inaccessible to the poor. To help pay for healthcare costs, insurance is available, often provided by employers, but most Indians lack health insurance, and out-of-pocket costs make up a large portion of the spending on medical treatment in India. On the other hand private hospitals in India offer world class quality health care at a fraction of the price of hospitals in developed countries. India's Ministry of Health was established with independence from Britain in 1947. The government has made health a priority in its series of five-year plans, each of which determines state spending priorities for the coming five years. The National Health Policy was endorsed by Parliament in 1983. The policy aimed at universal health care coverage by 2000, and the program was updated in 2002. The health care system in India is primarily administered by the states. India's Constitution tasks each state with providing health care for its people. In order to address lack of medical coverage in rural areas, the national government launched the National Rural Health Mission in 2005. This mission focuses resources on rural areas and poor states which have weak health services in the hope of improving health care in India's poorest regions.  Ensuring that one-sixth of humanity is healthy appears to be an insurmountable challenge, but one that the Indian government cannot ignore. The 2015 national healthcare policy states: “The reality is straightforward. The power of existing interventions is not matched by the power of health systems to deliver them to those in greatest need, in a comprehensive way, and on an adequate scale.” Empowering and enabling women, engaging with the private sector and civil society coupled with political willingness can see India set forth a new course towards a healthier, more robust population and workforce.

Keywords: Health; health care systems; Medical aid; health quality; Government health sector.