Today, on the World Health Day, the WHO (
World Health Organization) has declared 2018 as the year for creating awareness about universal health coverage. The need for universal health coverage is especially acute in India with its heavy load of hospitalizations and very low penetration of medical insurance.
The latest National Sample Survey Office’s report (2014) finds that 44 out of every 1,000
Indians end up getting hospitalized in a year. A decade ago this figure was 31 out of every 1,000 Indians (in urban areas, excluding childbirth). And India’s medical inflation rate is especially steep at 12-15% every five years. Yet, majority Indians pay for their medical care from their own pocket. In 2016, 62% of all Indians paid for their medical expenses on their own, an annual study by Cigna 360° showed.
In the past two-three years, Indians have turned to crowdfunding platforms, such as Milaap, Ketto and Impact Guru, to raise money for medical treatments. “More than half of the active fundraisers on Milaap are for medical and emergency cases,” says Anoj Viswanathan, president and co-founder, Milaap. According to him, increased internet penetration and the spread of social media has led to more people crowdfunding
medical treatment for themselves or for family and friends
On Ketto, health campaigns increased by 300% in past two years, and the total amount of money raised was Rs 80 crore.
Not everyone who starts a campaign to crowdfund succeeds. “We have seen that causes where the ailment urgently requires funds, and the treatment is immediate (like for organ transplants) have greater success rates as compared to fundraisers for prolonged treatment. Also, pediatric cases (for 0- 17 years age group) have a greater chance of being fully funded. For example, in cases of pediatric liver transplants, the chances of a fundraiser getting fully funded are as high as 70%,” says Viswanathan.
While these platforms have helped needy people get quality medical care, not everyone asking for funds online is genuine. In April last year, 22-year-old
Samiya Abdul Hafiz, was arrested in Hyderabad for running an elaborate health hoax. She pretended to be a cancer patient and setup a fund-raising page on
Facebook where she managed to raise Rs 22 lakh for her ‘treatment’.
