Free healthcare: The annual expenditure on the coverage is estimated to be 13 thousand crore annually.
The union government is considering to provide all citizens with free drugs and diagnostic treatment, as well as insurance cover to treat serious ailments under the the National Health Assurance Mission. The entire programme is likely to go live in phases can cost close to Rs. 25000 crores. The plan that is expected to be rolled out from April 2015, will cover the entire population by March 2019.
Currently India government spends only about one percent of gross domestic product on healthcare. It is much lesser when compared to three percent in China and aroudn eight percent in the United States. It is a fact that currently more newborns die in India than in poorer neighbours such as Bangladesh, and preventable illnesses such as diarrhoea kill more than a million children every year.
The universal health coverage could therefore ensure the huge population of India against the most common diseases. However, it might take more than a decade to build infrastructure and streamline the healthcare facilities.
