As the second-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic raged this year, reports poured in of economic distress. Not only were thousands of Indians left without livelihoods due to the lockdowns, they also had to cope with the trauma and expenditure of a loved one who had contracted COVID-19. Media reports indicated that the costs ran into lakhs for hospitalisations, compounded by the desperate search for oxygen and black maketeering of drugs. India has one of the highest rates of out-of-pocket expenditure in health in the world, at over 60 per cent, and recent data has shown a decline in household income as well as a rise in gold loans during the pandemic period.
In this podcast we discuss, the enormous strain health expenses have placed on Indians, the role of the public and private sector in the pandemic, and what role insurance has played and could play in the health sector in India.
Guest: Dr. Rama V. Baru, Professor, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Host: Zubeda Hamid
