India, June 10 -- Emergency health spending can push even relatively well-off households towards financial ruin. This is why health insurance is often described as one of the most important financial planning products. India and Indians have taken up to health insurance in a big way in the recent past. This is a welcome move. But recently released official statistics on healthcare spending raise a possible red flag vis-a-vis private health insurance coverage's role in health care spending. This two-part series will examine this issue in detail. The first part will examine how rising insurance coverage has reduced health spending burden on Indians. The second part will examine higher costs in private insurance covered patients.

Published ...