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Below the Quote on  Budget 2024 by Prasun Sikdar, MD & CEO, ManipalCigna Health Insurance   

“Right to Health is a part and parcel of Right to Life under Indian Constitution. The government has two primary objectives (a) ensure wider access to healthcare services at affordable prices and adequate quality (b) Reduce the out-of- pocket expenditure.  Keeping this in mind, the National Health Policy has proposed an increase in public expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. Despite some progress over the years, India’s healthcare spending is still low compared to the global average, necessitating a substantial boost in healthcare spends. Thus, in the upcoming union budget, we expect the Finance Minister to announce higher allocation of funds for healthcare compared to what was proposed in interim budget to meet the targets of the National Health Policy.

Addressing the second objective, reducing out-of-pocket expenses, is equally critical. Currently, these expenses are still high relative to global standards, indicating a considerable protection gap. Private health insurance is vital in bridging this gap. The insurance regulator, IRDAI has also set a vision of achieving Insurance for All by 2047, marking a century of India's independence. Thus, our sincere submission to government is to reduce the current 18% GST rate on essential service like Health Insurance. Further, specific segment considerations are also required especially for middle-income and senior citizen segments who are struggling to meet the rising healthcare costs. Lowering the GST burden on the health insurance premiums will be a huge respite for missing middle and senior citizens to get access to quality healthcare they need and help to significantly boost insurance penetration across India by driving affordability.” 

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