Govt health spending triples to ₹3.85 lakh cr in 2022-23: National Health Accounts Report

Ziraat Times News Desk

New Delhi, May 27: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday released the National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India for 2022-23, showing a significant rise in public health expenditure and a sharp decline in out-of-pocket spending by households over the past decade.

According to the report, Government Health Expenditure (GHE) increased nearly threefold from ₹1.30 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹3.85 lakh crore in 2022-23, reflecting increased public investment in the healthcare sector.

The report stated that GHE as a share of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose from 1.15 per cent in 2013-14 to 1.43 per cent in 2022-23. As per the revised GDP series with base year 2022-23, the figure stands at 1.48 per cent.

Similarly, the share of government health expenditure in General Government Expenditure (GGE) increased from 3.78 per cent to 4.89 per cent during the same period, indicating growing priority being accorded to healthcare in public spending.

Per capita government health expenditure also witnessed a substantial rise, increasing from ₹1,042 in 2013-14 to ₹2,786 in 2022-23.

The report highlighted that increased government spending has contributed to a major reduction in Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) borne by households. OOPE as a share of Total Health Expenditure (THE) declined from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 43.4 per cent in 2022-23.

The Health Ministry noted that government spending on healthcare received a major boost during the COVID-19 pandemic period, when health expenditure rose to 1.84 per cent of GDP in 2021-22 due to emergency response measures, including the Emergency COVID Response Package (ECRP) and the nationwide vaccination programme.

During this period, OOPE as a percentage of total health expenditure declined further to 39.4 per cent.

The report also pointed out that the share of Government Health Expenditure in Total Health Expenditure increased from 28.6 per cent in 2013-14 to 43.7 per cent in 2022-23, reflecting a shift towards greater public financing of healthcare.

Social Security Expenditure (SSE) on healthcare, which includes government-funded health insurance schemes such as Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, medical reimbursements and social health insurance programmes, also registered significant growth. Its share in total health expenditure increased from 6 per cent in 2013-14 to 9.9 per cent in 2022-23.

The share of private health insurance in total health expenditure rose from 3.4 per cent to 9.2 per cent during the period, which the ministry attributed to improved awareness and increased purchasing power among the population.

The report further revealed that expenditure on primary healthcare by the government more than doubled from ₹0.5 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹1.4 lakh crore in 2022-23.

The National Health Accounts Estimates 2022-23 is the tenth report prepared by the National Health Accounts Technical Secretariat under the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, using the System of Health Accounts (2011) framework.

The expert group involved in preparation of the report includes representatives from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, National Council of Applied Economic Research, Institute of Economic Growth and the National Health Authority, among others.

The ministry said the report reflects sustained efforts towards achieving affordable, equitable and accessible healthcare and advancing Universal Health Coverage in the country.