India’s healthcare industry is at a very important juncture and vital
decisions around the four pillars of healthcare — availability, affordability,
accessibility and acceptability — need to be made to tackle contemporary
healthcare challenges. Glaring challenges around high out-of-pocket spending,
inequality of services and fragmented social and regulatory standards are
forcing stakeholders back to the policy drawing board. Further, with the voice for
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) gaining traction, it is becoming imperative for the
government and other stakeholders to relook and redesign the current healthcare
system.
The report titled "Mandatory Health Insurance: A step towards Universal Health Coverage", released at the NextGen Healthcare Conclave held on 29 July, endeavours to focus on the current gaps that exist in healthcare financing in India. The report also provides a perspective into plausible solutions in the form of
mandatory health insurance and innovative micro-health insurance, having the ability
to safeguard the underprivileged section of the society from financial challenges. The salient features of the report includes:
- Analysing the current challenging state in healthcare
- Affordability concerns and healthcare insurance coverage
- Concept of mandatory health insurance and micro-health insurance