Rural health[edit]
Rural India contains over 68% of India's total population,[37] and half of all residents of rural areas live below the poverty line, struggling for better and easy access to health care and services.[38] Health issues confronted by rural people are many and diverse – from severe malaria to uncontrolled diabetes, from a badly infected wound to cancer.[39] Postpartum maternal illness is a serious problem in resource-poor settings and contributes to maternal mortality, particularly in rural India.[40] A study conducted in 2009 found that 43.9% of mothers reported they experienced postpartum illnesses six weeks after delivery.[41] Furthermore, because of limited government resources, much of the health care provided comes from non profits such as The MINDS Foundation.[42]
Health care system[edit]
The private healthcare sector is responsible for the majority of healthcare in India. Most healthcare expenses are paid out of pocket by patients and their families, rather than through insurance. Private insurance is available in India, as are various through government-sponsored health insurance schemes. According to the World Bank, about 25% of India's population had some form of health insurance in 2010.[43] A 2014 Indian government study found this to be an over-estimate, and claimed that only about 17% of India's population was insured.[44] Public healthcare is free for those below the poverty line.[45]
Plans are currently being formulated for the development of a universal health care system in India, which would provide universal health coverage throughout India.
Public and private healthcare[edit]
According to National Family Health Survey-3, the private medical sector remains the primary source of health care for 70% of households in urban areas and 63% of households in rural areas.[3] Reliance on public and private health care sector varies significantly between states. Several reasons are cited for relying on private rather than public sector; the main reason at the national level is poor quality of care in the public sector, with more than 57% of households pointing to this as the reason for a preference for private health care.[3] Other major reasons are distance of the public sector facility, long wait times, and inconvenient hours of operation.[3] The study conducted by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics in 2013, across 12 states in over 14,000 households indicated a steady increase in the usage of private healthcare facilities over the last 25 years for both Out Patient and In Patient services, across rural and urban areas.[46]
Following the 2014 election which brought Prime Minister Narendra Modi to office, Modi's government unveiled plans for a nationwide universal health care system known as the National Health Assurance Mission, which would provide all citizens with free drugs, diagnostic treatments, and insurance for serious ailments.[47] In 2015, implementation of a universal health care system was delayed due to budgetary concerns.[48]
National Health Mission (former National Rural Health Mission)[edit]
A community health center in Kerala.
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in April 2005 by the Government of India. The goal of the NRHM was to provide effective healthcare to rural people with a focus on 18 states which have poor public health indicators and/or weak infrastructure.[49] Lack of political, economic and administrative decentralization of health care is being chronically ignored by NHM.
National Urban Health Mission[edit]
The National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a sub-mission of National Health Mission (NHM) has been approved by the Cabinet on 1 May 2013. The goal of NUHM is to meet health care needs of the urban population with the focus on urban poor, by making available to them essential primary health care services and reducing their out of pocket expenses for treatment.[50]