Health Accounts report shows rise in expenditure on health by states and Centre: V K Paul

VK Paul, a Niti Aayog member, stated on Monday that the Health Accounts report 2018-19 indicated an increase in health expenditure by both the union and state governments.

Speaking to ANI, Paul said, “National Health Accounts report 2018-19 has been released by the government today. The report shows that there is a rise in the expenditure on health by the government, both Union and State.” Paul added that the outer pocket expenditure is showing a steady decline from 64 per cent to 48 per cent. The expenditure on primary health care is also steadily rising, Paul stated.

“This report tells us that the vision set by the PM and the processes is in the right direction,” he further stated.

In the presence of Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Paul, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog, delivered the findings of the National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India for 2018-19.

In an important update, many metrics connected to health expenditure in the country indicated an optimistic trend that has been sustained.

According to the NHA projections for 2018-19, the percentage of government health expenditure in the country’s overall GDP has increased. According to an official declaration, it has risen from 1.15% in 2013-14 to 1.28% in 2018-19.

Increase in health expenditure

Additionally, the share of Government Health Expenditure in Total Health Expenditure has also increased over time. In 2018-19, the share of government expenditure was 40.6%, substantially higher than the share of 28.6% in 2013-14.

NHA findings also indicate that Government’s health expenditure as a percentage of Current Health Expenditure has increased from 23.2% in 2013-14 to 34.5% in 2018-19, the statement added.

Also Read: Walking 10,000 steps per day reduces risk of dementia, cancer: Research