Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

AIA research reveals Sri Lanka facing critical illness ‘financing gap’

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AIA Group (AIA) has found that people in Sri Lanka face a considerab­le ‘financing gap’ where savings, current levels of insurance and government health provisions may not be enough to pay for the treatment for critical illnesses (such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes or other serious conditions).

The findings are part of the latest AIA Healthy Living Index Survey (The Survey), the fourth since 2011, which highlights the prevailing health trends, motivation­s and concerns for individual­s and communitie­s across Asia-pacific. In Sri Lanka, 41 percent of people are concerned about the potential costs of critical illness. When asked to estimate the cost of treatment for heart disease they expect they would have to bear, over one-fifth (21 percent) estimate an amount that would have serious financial implicatio­ns for them.

The concern is justified when the expected financing gap is taken into account. For cancer treatment, respondent­s who think they would notbe able to afford treatment expect an average shortfall of 83 percent of the costs they would have to bear. Across people who cannot afford treatment in Sri Lanka, the financing gap for heart disease is 75 percent and for diabetes 92per cent of direct costs.

Overall, people’s satisfacti­on with their health and habits in Sri Lankahas declined since the previous AIA Healthy Living Index in 2016. Some 77 percent of respondent­s are satisfied with their health, down from 89 per cent in 2016.

Some35per cent of people in Sri Lankarate themselves positively on the amount of exercise they are getting - down twenty-eight percentage points since 2016. Thirty-five per cent are satisfied with their frequency of medical check-ups –down forty-one percentage points from 2016.

The results are likely to reflect changing expectatio­ns about ideal healthy lifestyles and behaviours as much as changing habits. Along with a drop-in satisfacti­on levels, people are less likely to behave more healthily. On average, respondent­s in Sri Lankaclaim to do 1.4 hours of exercise each week – a decrease from 2.1hours claimed in 2016.

Healthy habits can be hard to sustain among Sri Lankans. Only 49per cent of those who have ever adopted a weight loss scheme continue to use one now.and just30per cent of those who have ever joined a gym or fitness class have gone to one in the past four weeks.meanwhile, technology is proving a positive force for change. Most (56per cent of all respondent­s in Sri Lanka) consider health and activity tracking technology to be easy to use and 56per cent think these devices motivate positive changes in behaviour. That said, only 1 percent of those surveyed in Sri Lanka have ever tried an activity tracker.

Commenting on the Survey, CEO AIA Sri Lanka Pankaj Banerjee said,“most people underestim­ate the financial impact that a serious illness has on their assets and savings both in terms of being able to afford the best care and in recovery from a serious illness. It is therefore vitally important for people to be conscious of the need to make healthy lifestyle habits while also ensuring to be well prepared to handle any eventualit­ies. As an insurer, this is where AIA can help, with products, propositio­ns and programmes that help you live healthier, longer, better- so you can make the most of life.”

The AIA Healthy Living Index surveyed 11,000 adults in 16 of our markets and was commission­ed by AIA and conducted by IPSOS, a leading consumer research company.

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