Healthcare has become increasingly affordable, accessible in recent years: Economic Survey

New Delhi, July 22: The Ministry of Finance has announced strides in making healthcare more affordable and accessible to the general public, as highlighted in the Economic Survey 2023-2024 tabled by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Finance, the Survey indicates that the latest National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates for FY20 reveal an increase in both the share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in the total GDP and the share of GHE in Total Health Expenditure (THE).

Over the years, the share of primary healthcare expenditure has risen from 51.3 per cent of GHE in FY15 to 55.9 per cent in FY20.

Additionally, the share of primary and secondary care in GHE has increased from 73.2 per cent in FY15 to 85.5 per cent in FY20.

Conversely, the share of primary and secondary care in private health expenditure has decreased from 83.0 per cent to 73.7 per cent, attributed to the rising burden of tertiary diseases and greater use of government facilities for primary healthcare, read the press release.

The Survey also highlights a notable increase in social security expenditure on health, growing from 5.7 per cent in FY15 to 9.3 per cent in FY20, alongside a reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a percentage of THE between FY15 and FY20.