The Union Health Ministry has released the National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India 2022-23, highlighting a steady increase in government spending on healthcare over the past decade and a significant decline in out-of-pocket expenses borne by households.

According to the report, the share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in India’s GDP increased from 1.15 per cent in 2013-14 to 1.43 per cent in 2022-23. Based on the revised GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year, the figure stands at 1.48 per cent. Government spending on health as a share of overall government expenditure also rose from 3.78 per cent to 4.89 per cent during the same period.

In per capita terms, government health expenditure increased nearly 2.7 times, rising from Rs 1,042 in 2013-14 to Rs 2,786 in 2022-23.

The report noted that higher public spending on healthcare has contributed to a sharp reduction in Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) as a share of Total Health Expenditure (THE). OOPE declined from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 43.4 per cent in 2022-23, reflecting improved financial protection for households.

The ministry also highlighted that healthcare spending saw a significant jump during the COVID-19 pandemic, with government health expenditure reaching 1.84 per cent of GDP in 2021-22 due to emergency response measures and the nationwide vaccination programme.

Further, the share of Government Health Expenditure in Total Health Expenditure increased from 28.6 per cent in 2013-14 to 43.7 per cent in 2022-23, indicating a stronger role of public financing in healthcare delivery.

The report also recorded growth in Social Security Expenditure on healthcare, including schemes such as Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, which rose from 6 per cent to 9.9 per cent of total health expenditure over the decade. Meanwhile, the share of private health insurance increased from 3.4 per cent to 9.2 per cent, pointing towards rising health awareness and improved affordability of healthcare coverage.