India, April 22 -- A new consumption survey by the government has found that, between 2017-18 and 2025, the rise in out-of-pocket (OOP) spending on hospitalisation outstripped overall consumer price index (CPI) inflation and its health inflation component. This points to the worrying possibility of health care becoming unaffordable for hundreds of millions in the country. While insurance and government cost support schemes such as Ayushman Bharat defray some costs for a section of the population, more than half the population in both urban and rural areas has no such cover to rely on.

This situation can have drastic implications. Those unable to access health care without either eroding savings or incurring crushing debt - given India's ...