The Budget 2022-23 aims to plug the gaps in the healthcare sphere through a National Digital Health Ecosystem. It is expected to usher a new era towards increasing the use of technology in a bid to cover a larger portion of the population under the health ambit through affordable services.
Notably, budget speech laid emphasis on the mental health issue and acknowledged the damning effect of the black swan event, the Covid19 pandemic across all age groups. The government is cognizant of this fact and has taken a bold step by launching tele-mental health centres in line with the National Tele-Mental Health programme.
The race to Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Government of India has introduced many initiatives including PLI schemes for manufacturers, incentives to introduce better insurance coverage to the economically deprived class of people. On the allocation front, the government has more than doubled the flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to Rs. 6,412 crore, under which people from socially and economically backward sections are offered hospitalisation coverage upto Rs. 5 lakhs for specified medical procedures and treatment.
The Economic Survey suggests that an increase in public spending to 2.5-3% of GDP can have greater externality effects by significantly reducing out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) expenditures from 65% to 30% during the time of medical exigencies.
The real challenge
Over and above the steps announced by the Government, organisations now are in a greater need to acknowledge and address the scope of UHC and take steps in alignment. According to a report by ADP titled “People at Work 2021: A Global Workforce View”, resulting from a study with over 32,000 workers, about 20% reported the need to stay healthy while managing work and family as the biggest challenge faced during the pandemic. While globally, 62% of respondents mentioned being more closely watched by their seniors at work regarding WFH hours, a whopping 72% of workers from India reported the same. The truth is unavoidable. Startup with cash-burning business models, in order to save money, turned on its employees during the last year. High attrition, dual jobs, employee fraud are affecting the productivity of smaller enterprises trying to stay afloat. Mental healthcare is the only plausible next step for a global HR shift that is already happening outside.
Insurtech could become a turning point in this journey. With customised, sachet-style affordable healthcare packages, MSMEs can offer better benefits to their employees. In a country like India which ranks 10th globally in life and non-life premiums, health insurance is a necessary tool to absorb the interim shocks to entire families. The pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of a regular Indian family to our collective horrors. The real gap is in matching the people’s willingness to get insured, for India’s ‘Missing Middle’ with attractive, affordable insurance offerings and win it with trust.
By Kulin Shah, CO-Founder, Onsurity
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