National Health Accounts 2023-24 Reveal Major Healthcare Financing Transformation
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released the National Health Accounts Estimates for India 2023-24, showing substantial progress in making healthcare more affordable and reducing financial burden on households. The data reveals a significant transformation in India's healthcare financing landscape between 2013-14 and 2023-24, with government health expenditure tripling from ₹1,29,778 crore to ₹4,14,196 crore. This represents a threefold increase and reflects sustained expansion of public investment in healthcare over the decade.
Key Expenditure Shifts and Financial Protection Improvements
The most notable development is the sharp decline in Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) as a share of Total Health Expenditure, which fell from 64.2% in 2013-14 to 42.7% in 2023-24, marking a reduction of 21.5 percentage points. This decline continued in the latest year, with OOPE reducing from 43.4% in 2022-23 to 42.7% in 2023-24. The government's share in Total Health Expenditure increased by 14.9 percentage points, representing a nearly 52% increase over the decade.
Per capita Government Health Expenditure increased from ₹1,042 in 2013-14 to ₹2,959 in 2023-24, representing an increase of approximately 2.8 times. Social Security Expenditure on Health nearly doubled as a share of Total Health Expenditure, rising from 6% to 11%, strengthening financial protection mechanisms. Private Health Insurance Expenditure also increased significantly from 3.4% of Total Health Expenditure in 2013-14 to 10.2% in 2023-24.
Primary Healthcare Investment and Flagship Initiatives
Government investment in primary healthcare reached ₹1.53 lakh crore, reinforcing the focus on affordable and accessible healthcare at the grassroots level. This investment supports the expansion of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, which provide comprehensive primary healthcare services including preventive and promotive healthcare, screening for non-communicable diseases, essential medicines, and diagnostics.
The progress is attributed to flagship government initiatives including Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), Free Drugs and Diagnostics Initiatives, Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, and Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) pharmacies. These initiatives are complemented by pharmaceutical price regulation undertaken by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.
The National Health Accounts estimates were prepared by the National Health Accounts Technical Secretariat at the National Health Systems Resource Centre using the internationally recognised System of Health Accounts 2011 framework, representing the eleventh round of estimates.