There has been an overall increase in the government’s expenditure on primary health care between 2013-14 and 2022-23 as per the latest National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates released on Wednesday.
The expenditure on primary health care by the government has more than doubled from Rs 0.5 lakh crores to Rs 1.4 lakh crores over the period.
According to officials from the health ministry, the emphasis of the government on primary healthcare is evident through the operationalisation of more than 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs’ (AAM) till date.
“AAM delivers 12 comprehensive primary health care packages spanning reproductive, child, communicable, non-communicable, mental health, palliative, oral, ENT, and emergency care, along with free drugs/diagnostics, wellness sessions, and teleconsultations. To complement the expanded services, the essential list of drugs has been expanded to make available 106 drugs at the AAM – Sub Health Centre, 172 drugs at primary health centre-AAMs, 300 at community health centre, 318 at sub-district hospital and 381 at district hospitals at no cost,” officials said.
According to the recent findings of the National Statistical Office (NSO) 80 round health survey the health demand has almost doubled, from 6.8 per cent to 12.2 per cent in rural areas and 9.1 per cent to 14.9 per cent in urban areas between 2017-18 and 2025.
For the year 2022-23, Total Health Expenditure (THE) for India is estimated at Rs 8,81,359 crores (3.37 per cent of GDP).
The share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from 1.15 per cent in 2013–14 to 1.43 per cent in 2022–23. Similarly, GHE’s share in General Government Expenditure (GGE) has increased from 3.78 per cent to 4.89 per cent over the same period, underscoring the growing prioritisation of health in public spending. In per capita terms, GHE has increased nearly 2.7 times, from Rs. 1,042 to Rs. 2,786 between 2013-14 and 2022-23.
The Union government’s share in GHE is about 36.3 per cent, while the share of State Governments is about 63.7 per cent. This amounts to about 4.89 per cent of General Government Expenditure in 2022-23.
The out of pocket expenditure has been a major concern. Between 2013-14 and 2022–23, it has declined significantly by nearly 21 percentage points, from 64.2 per cent to 43.4 per cent. India ranks 64 in the list of 192 countries in Out-of-Pocket Expenditure per capita in PPP for 2022.
The share of private health insurance in the health expenditure has also increased, from 3.4 per cent to 9.2 per cent, indicating enhanced purchasing power.
