Telangana households spend Rs 4,825 crore annually on medical care

Households in Telangana are spending around Rs 4,825 crore annually on medical treatment, mostly due to out-of-pocket expenses for hospitalisation. Rural families bear a larger share of this burden, often forced to rely on private healthcare, pushing many into debt

Hyderabad: Households across urban and rural Telangana are under severe financial stress due to the high cost of medical treatment, with annual out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPME) estimated at approximately Rs 4,825 crore. The burden is pushing many families into poverty, especially those without adequate insurance or access to affordable healthcare.

Rural households in Telangana spend Rs 3,022 crore annually on hospitalised treatment, while urban households incur expenses amounting to Rs 1,804 crore, according to data from the NSS 79th Round of the Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (2022-23) conducted by the Ministry of Statistics.

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This mounting expenditure highlights a pressing public health issue. With limited access to quality public healthcare, families are forced to turn to private hospitals, resulting in a growing medical debt crisis.

On average, rural households in Telangana spend Rs 4,579 per hospitalisation, compared to Rs 4,008 spent by urban households. In contrast, in Andhra Pradesh, rural households spend Rs 3,685 and urban households Rs 4,238 for similar treatment. Telangana’s rural household medical expenditure is higher than the national rural average of Rs 4,129.

At the national level, the average annual medical expenditure for hospitalised treatment in urban households stands at Rs 5,290, which is significantly higher than Telangana’s urban average of Rs 4,008.

Health experts in Hyderabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government must urgently bolster public healthcare infrastructure and ensure wider, more effective implementation of health insurance schemes. “Without focused policy interventions to reduce out-of-pocket spending, a large section of the population will remain vulnerable to financial ruin due to medical emergencies,” they said.

Data from NSS Report No. 590: Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey, 2022-23 (approximate figures)

· Total annual out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPME) (rural/urban) for households in Telangana: Rs 4, 825 crore (approximately from Rs 4825.74 crore)

· Total OOPME (rural) for households in TS: Rs 3, 022 crore

· Total OOPME (urban) for households in TS: Rs 1, 804 crore

· Total OOPME hospitalized treatment per person (rural/urban) in Telangana per year: Rs 4929.26 crore

· Average yearly OOPME per person in rural regions in Telangana is Rs 1, 298

· Average yearly OOPME per person for urban centres in Telangana is Rs 1, 246.

· Total rural per-person OOPME per year average is Rs 2, 686 crore

· Total urban per-person OOPME per year average is Rs 2, 243 crore