BRS healthcare initiatives helped people from going bankrupt in Telangana, says NHA report

The NHA report analysed health spending from 2013 to 2021, showing Telangana had the highest government healthcare investment in South India, helping families lower out-of-pocket costs for quality care.

Hyderabad: The BRS government’s numerous patient-focused healthcare initiatives over the past decade have led to significantly reduced out of- pocket (OOP) expenses for people of Telangana State, which has been instrumental in preventing families from financial ruin and bankruptcy due to medical bills, the latest National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimate for India report released a few days ago by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), indicated.

The NHA report, which analysed health expenditures made by the governments and people from 2013 to 2021, indicated that the Telangana State was the best in South India, when it came to generous government spending for healthcare, thus ensuring families spend less from their pocket to access quality health care.

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A large portion of the credit for the reduced financial burden on patients was due to the fact that the BRS government (2014- 2023) spent Rs 6,563.36 crore to implement the Aarogyasri universal health insurance scheme, which eventually benefitted 15.5 lakh (15, 655, 613) individuals in Telangana.

According to NHA estimates, in 2021-22, per capita out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) for each individual in Telangana State was Rs 2,449 while per capital expenditure by the then BRS government was Rs 3,007.

The total healthcare expenditure of Telangana State in 2021-22 was Rs 24,753 crore out of which government healthcare expenditure (which also includes PMJAY) was Rs 11,427 crore while out-ofpocket expenditure by individuals was Rs 9,305 crore. Among the Southern States, the NHA report indicated that only Karnataka had the lowest out-pocket expenditure per individual at Rs 1,933 followed by Telangana at Rs 2,449. The per-capital out-of-pocket expenditure in Andhra Pradesh was on the higher side at Rs 3,834.

The NHA report said “For the first time, Government Health Expenditure (GHE) as a share of total health expenditure has exceeded the share of out-ofpocket expenditure on health. Overall, in 2021-22, the GHE was 48 percent while the OOPE share was 39.4 percent. This year-onyear trend indicates that progress made by the health system in the right direction”.

Before statehood, the average government health expenditure was hovering between nearly 28 percent and 29 percent and by 2021- 22, it increased and now hovers between 48 percent and 49 percent.

The steady increase in government health expenditure had a positive effect on out-of-pocket expenditure on individuals, which was between 60 percent and 63 percent. A decade down the line, the out-ofpocket expenditure has reduced by 39 percent.