National Health Accounts Estimates (NHA) 2019-20 has been released by the Indian Government, providing a comprehensive analysis of the the trends in government and private health expenditures in India between 2014-15 and 2019-20. 

National Health Accounts Estimates (NHA) 2019-20 is the seventh in the series of reports released annually,

Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure 

The National Health Accounts (NHA) says the share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in Total Health Expenditure declined from 62.6%  in 2014-15 to 47.1% in 2019-20. 

The continuous decline in the OOPE in the overall health spending shows progress towards ensuring financial protection and Universal Health Coverage for citizens.

Government Health Expenditure
From 2014-15 to 2019-20, the share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in country’s total GDP has increased from 1.13 percent to 1.35 percent.  

The increase in government spending on health has an important implication for the reduction of financial hardship endured by households. The share of Government Health Expenditure in Total Health Expenditure has increased also from 29 percent in 2014-15 to 41.4 percent in 2019-20.

During the same period, GHE as per cent of general government expenditure (GGE) has shown an increase from 3.94 per cent to 5.02 per cent. This clearly indicates that healthcare has been the priority for public investment in India. 

National Health policy 2017 states that two-thirds of public health spending must be in Primary Health systems.

Per Capita GHE
In per capita terms, GHE has doubled from Rs. 1,108 to Rs. 2,014 between 2014-15 to 2019-20. The government spending on health between 2018-19 and 2019-20 increased by 12%, more than double the growth rate between 2017-18 and 2018-19 which was at 5%.

The NHA Estimates for 2019-20 clearly show that government expenditure for healthcare continues to be the priority

Key Takeaways

• Share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in Total Health Expenditure declines from 62.6% in 2014-15 to 47.1% in 2019-20
• Government Health Expenditure’s share in country’s total GDP increases from 1.13% (2014-15) to 1.35% (2019-20)
• Share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) i in Total Health Expenditure increases from 29% (2014-15) to 41.4% (2019-20)
• Per capita Government spending on healthcare doubles