Combating non-communicable diseases, providing universal access to quality health care and reversing the brain drain of medical professionals deserve top priority in the health sector
India should aspire to provide universal insurance coverage for essential care with low out-of-pocket spending. The government should focus on its role as a payer and regulator and drive provision of health care in under-served areas, across the care continuum. Moreover, as a payer, its reimbursement model should be viable and inspiring. A healthy situation would be one in which the total spending on health care reaches 6 percent of GDP with out-of-pocket spending at less than 30 percent. Public spending on health care should increase to 3 percent of GDP and account for around half of overall health expenditure, driven by greater government prioritisation of health care.
(This story appears in the 22 January, 2016 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)