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The Rising Burden of Healthcare Expenditure in India: A Poverty Nexus

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An Erratum to this article was published on 19 June 2017

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Abstract

The increasing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases are imposing unavoidable costs on Indians. As a consequence it exacerbate poverty and drag many poor further down by heavy medical expenses. This study aims to estimate the extent of healthcare expenditure on the individuals who were hospitalized due to various diseases. Further, this study examines the burden of healthcare expenditure on impoverishment level in India. The unit level record of the 71st round of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) is used in the analysis. The result reveals, cost of hospitalization due to non-communicable diseases is three times higher than communicable diseases in India. Therefore, an overall level of impoverishment has been increased by 1.61 percent/year which shows the high financial risk for the people surviving at the threshold of poverty.

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Fig. 1

Computed from 71st (25.0) round of NSSO data set

Fig. 2

Computed from 71st (25.0) round of NSSO data set

Fig. 3

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Change history

  • 19 June 2017

    An erratum to this article has been published.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Falguni Pattanaik and the reviewers for his valuable suggestions.

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  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

    Pushpendra Singh & Virendra Kumar

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  1. Pushpendra Singh
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Correspondence to Pushpendra Singh.

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Additional information

The original version of this article was revised. The formula in section 2.2.1.1 Multivariate Analysis and the figure missing the full name of the variables. The correct formula and figures are given in this erratum.

An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-017-1667-4.

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Singh, P., Kumar, V. The Rising Burden of Healthcare Expenditure in India: A Poverty Nexus. Soc Indic Res 133, 741–762 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1388-0

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