Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India

Insurance refers to a promise of compensation for any potential future losses. Health insurance is a form of insurance that compensates for medical expenses related to sickness and treatment. Huge portion of Indian population are vulnerable to economic burden in accessing health care. Equity in acce...

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Main Authors: Farhad Ahamed, Partha Haldar, Shashi Kant, Sumit Malhotra, Ravneet Kaur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2016-01-01
Series:Indian Journal of Community and Family Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ijcfm.org/article.asp?issn=2395-2113;year=2016;volume=2;issue=2;spage=15;epage=20;aulast=Ahamed;type=0
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author Farhad Ahamed
Partha Haldar
Shashi Kant
Sumit Malhotra
Ravneet Kaur
author_facet Farhad Ahamed
Partha Haldar
Shashi Kant
Sumit Malhotra
Ravneet Kaur
author_sort Farhad Ahamed
collection DOAJ
description Insurance refers to a promise of compensation for any potential future losses. Health insurance is a form of insurance that compensates for medical expenses related to sickness and treatment. Huge portion of Indian population are vulnerable to economic burden in accessing health care. Equity in accessing healthcare is also of great concern in India. In the present scenario, vulnerable population of our country can be protected from impoverishment and catastrophic health expenditure through a model of health insurance that encompasses the entire population. However, health insurance is still in a developing condition in India. In this article we have discussed the challenges and opportunities for both the public and private insurance system in India. Presently there are important challenges in the public sector as well as private sector insurance in India in terms of monitoring, data capturing, administration and oversight. It is also important to gauge the financial sustainability of the insurance programme and develop early warning systems for identification of signs of collapse. Ensuring adequate focus on the primary and secondary level of care including preventive aspects is another area where insurance programmes have to work since majority presently focus only on tertiary care.
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spelling doaj.art-7aa293ee29b3451f8fbaaa21977badc52023-03-21T08:34:04ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Community and Family Medicine2395-21132016-01-0122152010.4103/2395-2113.251814Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in IndiaFarhad AhamedPartha HaldarShashi KantSumit MalhotraRavneet KaurInsurance refers to a promise of compensation for any potential future losses. Health insurance is a form of insurance that compensates for medical expenses related to sickness and treatment. Huge portion of Indian population are vulnerable to economic burden in accessing health care. Equity in accessing healthcare is also of great concern in India. In the present scenario, vulnerable population of our country can be protected from impoverishment and catastrophic health expenditure through a model of health insurance that encompasses the entire population. However, health insurance is still in a developing condition in India. In this article we have discussed the challenges and opportunities for both the public and private insurance system in India. Presently there are important challenges in the public sector as well as private sector insurance in India in terms of monitoring, data capturing, administration and oversight. It is also important to gauge the financial sustainability of the insurance programme and develop early warning systems for identification of signs of collapse. Ensuring adequate focus on the primary and secondary level of care including preventive aspects is another area where insurance programmes have to work since majority presently focus only on tertiary care.http://www.ijcfm.org/article.asp?issn=2395-2113;year=2016;volume=2;issue=2;spage=15;epage=20;aulast=Ahamed;type=0health insuranceindiachallengespublicprivate
spellingShingle Farhad Ahamed
Partha Haldar
Shashi Kant
Sumit Malhotra
Ravneet Kaur
Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India
Indian Journal of Community and Family Medicine
health insurance
india
challenges
public
private
title Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India
title_full Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India
title_fullStr Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India
title_full_unstemmed Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India
title_short Challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in India
title_sort challenges and opportunities for private and public health care insurance system in india
topic health insurance
india
challenges
public
private
url http://www.ijcfm.org/article.asp?issn=2395-2113;year=2016;volume=2;issue=2;spage=15;epage=20;aulast=Ahamed;type=0
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AT shashikant challengesandopportunitiesforprivateandpublichealthcareinsurancesysteminindia
AT sumitmalhotra challengesandopportunitiesforprivateandpublichealthcareinsurancesysteminindia
AT ravneetkaur challengesandopportunitiesforprivateandpublichealthcareinsurancesysteminindia