New Study Calls For Higher Allocation For Public Health To Lower Household Medical Expenses

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, a new study has added empirical weight to longstanding demands for higher expenditure on public healthcare, warning that socioeconomic factors are increasingly driving medical costs and deepening inequality in access to care.

- Press Trust Of India

The study, "Impact of Determinants of Healthcare Expenditure in India: The ARDL Bounds Testing Approach", published in the International Journal of Advanced Research in December last year, analyses national data from 1991 to 2023 to assess what shapes healthcare expenditure in India -- both total per-capita spending and household out-of-pocket (OOP) payments.

Using advanced econometric modelling, the authors argue that income growth, urbanisation, education levels, inflation and life expectancy all have statistically significant long-term effects on healthcare spending.

The research shows that rising incomes and rapid urbanisation are closely linked to higher healthcare consumption, while education and longevity also influence spending patterns, particularly private OOP expenses.

The findings suggest that India's development trajectory itself is structurally pushing healthcare costs upward disproportionately impacting families dependent on private care.

The study highlights the persistent “dual nature" of India's health financing system - limited public spending alongside heavy reliance on private OOP expenditure.