{"id":105674,"date":"2026-05-29T11:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T05:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=105674"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T05:52:20","slug":"national-health-accounts-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-health-accounts-report\/","title":{"rendered":"National Health Accounts Report &#8211; Key Findings"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>National Health Accounts Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The latest <\/span><b>National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for FY23<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show a rise in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure and a decline in government health spending in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>National Health Accounts in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>National Health Accounts (NHA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an official framework that tracks the flow of funds within India\u2019s healthcare sector. It provides estimates of:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total health expenditure in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government spending on healthcare.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Household out-of-pocket expenditure.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Private sector and insurance contributions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NHA estimates are prepared by the <\/span><b>National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare using internationally accepted accounting standards developed by the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/world-health-organisation\/\" target=\"_blank\">World Health Organisation<\/a> (WHO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-is-the-organisation-for-economic-co-operation-and-development-oecd\/\" target=\"_blank\">Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development<\/a> (OECD)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report helps policymakers assess whether healthcare financing is becoming more accessible, equitable, and affordable. It is also important for monitoring progress toward <\/span><b>Universal Health Coverage (UHC)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Indicators in Health Financing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Government Health Expenditure (GHE)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government Health Expenditure refers to the amount spent by the Union and State governments on healthcare services, infrastructure, medicines, and public health programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Higher public expenditure generally improves healthcare accessibility and reduces financial burdens on households. India\u2019s National Health Policy, 2017, had proposed increasing government health expenditure to <\/span><b>2.5% of GDP<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Out-of-Pocket Expenditure refers to direct payments made by individuals for healthcare services at the time of treatment. It includes spending on Medicines, Hospitalisation, Diagnostic services and Doctor consultations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High OOPE is considered a major challenge because it can push vulnerable families into poverty and discourage timely healthcare access.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has historically recorded high out-of-pocket spending compared to many developing and developed countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Findings of the Latest National Health Accounts Report<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the latest <\/span><b>National Health Accounts Estimates for FY23<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, India witnessed a rise in household spending on healthcare.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Out-of-pocket expenditure increased sharply from around <\/span><b>39.4% of total health expenditure in FY22 to nearly 44% in FY23<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This marks a reversal of the declining trend observed in recent years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, the share of government health expenditure reportedly declined by around <\/span><b>11% in FY23<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> compared to the previous year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report highlighted that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public spending growth slowed after the pandemic period.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Household financial burden in healthcare increased again.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Private expenditure regained a larger share in overall health financing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This change assumes significance because India had witnessed improvements during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased government health spending and emergency public health investments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Reasons Behind Rising Out-of-Pocket Spending<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several factors may have contributed to the rise in OOPE in FY23.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Decline in Pandemic-Era Public Spending<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the COVID-19 period, governments substantially increased expenditure on hospitals, vaccination, testing, and emergency care. As emergency allocations reduced in FY23, public spending also moderated.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High Dependence on Private Healthcare<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A significant proportion of Indians continue to rely on private healthcare facilities because of concerns related to overcrowding, infrastructure gaps, and specialist shortages in public hospitals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Private healthcare generally involves higher treatment costs, leading to increased household expenditure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rising Medicine and Diagnostic Costs<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spending on medicines and diagnostics continues to constitute a large share of household healthcare expenses in India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even relatively minor medical treatments can impose financial stress on low-income families.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Government Measures to Reduce Healthcare Burden<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Government of India has launched several initiatives aimed at reducing financial hardship in healthcare.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ayushman Bharat Scheme<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> provides health insurance coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary healthcare.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It targets economically vulnerable households and aims to reduce catastrophic medical expenditure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Expansion of Health Infrastructure<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government has also increased investments under schemes such as:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM)<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establishment of new AIIMS institutions\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthening of Health and Wellness Centres<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These measures aim to improve access to affordable public healthcare services.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promotion of Generic Medicines<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> promotes affordable generic medicines through dedicated Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This initiative seeks to reduce medicine-related out-of-pocket expenses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source :<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/out-of-pocket-spending-on-healthcare-still-high-national-health-accounts\/articleshow\/131379468.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/india-out-of-pocket-health-expenditure-rises-fy23-10712298\/#:~:text=As%20per%20the%20report%2C%20government,per%20cent%20during%202022%2D23.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2265816&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>National Health Accounts Report highlights rising out-of-pocket health expenditure and changing public health spending trends in FY23.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":105677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[7812],"class_list":{"0":"post-105674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-national-health-accounts","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105674"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105685,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105674\/revisions\/105685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}