India’s poor receive free healthcare

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the world’s biggest health insurance scheme, promising free coverage for half a billion of India’s poorest citizens ahead of national elections next year.

The bottom 40 per cent of India’s 1.25 billion people will be covered under the flagship program, dubbed Modicare”, unveiled in the federal budget earlier this year.

The 100 million lowest-income families will be provided 500,000 rupees ($6,900) in annual health insurance to treat serious ailments.

The scheme is expected to cost the central and 29 state governments $1.6 billion per year in total. Funding will be increased gradually according to demand.

India’s overburdened public health system is plagued by a shortage of facilities and doctors and most people use private clinics and hospitals if they can afford to.

But a private consultation can cost 1,000 rupees ($15), a huge sum for millions living on less than $2 a day.

More than 60 per cent of the average family’s spending goes on medicines and healthcare, the government estimates.

A report published this month by medical journal found substandard healthcare was responsible for an estimated 1.6 million deaths a year in India – the highest anywhere in the world.