Dr V K Paul: Govt Health Spending Increases From 1.13% To 1.84% Of GDP

The Union Health Ministry has released the latest National Health Account (NHA) estimates for India, covering the fiscal years 2020-21 and 2021-22. This marks the eighth and ninth reports in the annual series by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) at NITI Aayog, noted significant improvements in the methodology used for these estimates over the past nine years, enhancing the accuracy of government health expenditure records. Highlighting a positive trend, Dr. Paul pointed out a notable decrease in Out-of-Pocket expenditure as a share of Total Health Expenditure, dropping from 64.2% in 2013-14 to 39.4% in 2021-22. He credited this shift to effective policy implementations such as Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, which has resulted in savings exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore and positively influenced the latest NHA figures. Additionally, he mentioned the widespread benefits of initiatives like the Free Dialysis scheme, benefiting 25 lakh individuals since its launch in 2015-16. Moreover, the data underscores a steady increase in health expenditure as a percentage of GDP, rising from 1.13% in FY15 to 1.84% in FY22.