India’s health coverage expands rapidly, insurance reaches nearly half the population: Govt

A Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation survey shows health insurance coverage in India rose sharply from 2017–18 to 2025, alongside detailed data on medical expenses, hospitalisation costs, and rising non-communicable diseases across age groups

New Delhi: A government survey showed on Monday that a substantial improvement has been seen in health insurance coverage across India between 2017–18 (about 14 per cent in rural and about 19 per cent in urban) and 2025 (about 47 per cent in rural and about 44 per cent in urban).

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the findings of the survey on health, titled ‘Household Social Consumption: Health’. The survey was conducted during January–December 2025.

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According to the findings, the estimated average out-of-pocket medical expenditure per hospitalisation case (excluding childbirth) during the last 365 days was about Rs 34,064 (Rs 31,484 in rural and Rs 38,688 in urban), while the median out-of-pocket medical expenditure was about Rs 11,285 (Rs 10,500 in rural and Rs 12,400 in urban).

“In public hospitals, the average expenditure per hospitalization case (excluding childbirth) at all-India level was Rs 6,631 while half of the hospitalized cases treated in public hospitals involved spending of Rs 1,100 or less,” the survey showed.

For out-patient care during the last 15 days, the average out-of-pocket medical expenditure in India was about Rs 861 (Rural Rs 847, Urban Rs 884) while the median expenditure was about Rs 400 (Rural Rs 395, Urban Rs 420).

In public hospitals, the average expenditure per spell for out-patient care during the last 15 days was about Rs 289 and the median was about Rs 0, indicating that half of the treatment episodes in public hospitals were received free of cost, according to the survey.

“The average out-of-pocket medical expenditure per childbirth during the last 365 days was about Rs 2,299 in public hospitals, while the average expenditure in all hospitals combined was about Rs 14,775.

Median expenditure for childbirth in public hospitals (Rs 801) was less than one-third of the median expenditure in all hospitals (Rs 2,851).

The survey further showed that about 13.1 per cent persons reported illness (responded as ailing) during the last 15 days preceding the date of survey, where persons in urban areas (14.9 per cent) reported illness slightly more than the persons in rural areas (12.2 per cent).

The highest proportion of individuals reporting illness was observed in the age-group 60 years and above (43.9 per cent), followed by those aged 45–59 years (22.5 per cent) and children aged 0–4 years (9.9 per cent).

Infections and respiratory ailments were most frequently reported during childhood and adolescence, while psychiatric/neurological and gastro-intestinal conditions peaked in young adulthood, said the report.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardio-vascular (hypertension) and endocrine/metabolic (diabetes) were most frequently reported after the age of 30 years, it added.