Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has become an important aspect of public policy world over, especially for developing and underdeveloped countries which have been lagging their developed counterparts in providing this vital social security to their citizens. Building further on government’s intent and keeping in mind the state of public health system, this paper proposes a model for implementing UHC in India.
The model aims at developing a basic and essential UHC package, consisting of primary, secondary and tertiary care, which would be affordable and accessible to every citizen in a period of 10 years. The report underscores a hybrid model for a sustainable UHC, which presupposes the role of government and the insurance companies as key players to roll out the scheme.
Though health is not a fundamental right in India, the model proposes to provide universal access to it in a gradual manner starting with the poor and vulnerable segments. Access to curative care, both secondary and tertiary would be through insurance mechanism, using empanelled public and private healthcare providers. The paper also suggests strategies, ways and means to enroll people on voluntary basis till the time legislative backing is implemented.
The report was released at the 7th Health Insurance Summit 2013 organized by CII on 9 December, 2013 in New Delhi.