The government spent more than Rs 2,000 per person per year on health in Himachal Pradesh while in Bihar per capita government spending was just Rs Rs 338, about one-sixth as much. This wide disparity in government spending between states also results in a corresponding variation in how much people are forced to spend from their own pockets.
Government spending includes what's spent by all levels of government, but about two-thirds of the total nationally is by states. These facts emerge from the National Health Accounts 2014-15 just uploaded on the union health ministry's website.
In Himachal, people had to pay only about half the total health expenditure from out of their own pockets, while in Bihar their share was 82%. The national average for households' share of the total spending was less than two-thirds. The pattern of low government spending leading to a very high share of the burden of health expenditure being borne by the people is clear in the case of states where government share of spending was the smallest. As a share of the total health spend, Andhra Pradesh had the lowest, 15.4%. In Bihar, the government's share was just 16.5%. In Punjab, government spending on health was just 17% of the total health expenditure. The two figures do not add up to 100% because total health expenditure also includes private or government-funded health insurance, spending by NGOs and by external donors.
Thus, in some states, despite a low share of government in total health spend, the share of households is not too high. For instance, while in Maharashtra the government spends only 17% of the total, the households' share is only about 60%, the remaining 27% being accounted for largely by insurance.
So where is all this money going? According to the NHA, private hospitals (26%) and private clinics (5%) accounted for almost a third of the total health spending, while pharmacies raked in another 29%. The share of government hospitals and clinics was just over 20%.
Government spending includes what's spent by all levels of government, but about two-thirds of the total nationally is by states. These facts emerge from the National Health Accounts 2014-15 just uploaded on the union health ministry's website.
In Himachal, people had to pay only about half the total health expenditure from out of their own pockets, while in Bihar their share was 82%. The national average for households' share of the total spending was less than two-thirds. The pattern of low government spending leading to a very high share of the burden of health expenditure being borne by the people is clear in the case of states where government share of spending was the smallest. As a share of the total health spend, Andhra Pradesh had the lowest, 15.4%. In Bihar, the government's share was just 16.5%. In Punjab, government spending on health was just 17% of the total health expenditure. The two figures do not add up to 100% because total health expenditure also includes private or government-funded health insurance, spending by NGOs and by external donors.
Thus, in some states, despite a low share of government in total health spend, the share of households is not too high. For instance, while in Maharashtra the government spends only 17% of the total, the households' share is only about 60%, the remaining 27% being accounted for largely by insurance.
So where is all this money going? According to the NHA, private hospitals (26%) and private clinics (5%) accounted for almost a third of the total health spending, while pharmacies raked in another 29%. The share of government hospitals and clinics was just over 20%.
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