Financing of Health Care

The per capita public health spending is low in India, being among the five lowest in the world. The public health expenditure in the country over the years has been comparatively low, and as a Percentage of GDP it has declined from 1.3 per cent in 1990 to 0.9 per cent in 1999, increased Marginally to 1.1 per cent by 2009. Public spending on health accounts for around 1 per cent of the GDP. This ratio is among the lowest in the world, although in recent years the share of public spending in total health spending has been steadily increasing. An important issue in public spending on health relates to the distribution between the Central and state sectors. With the launch of National Rural Health Programme (NRHM), the level of public spending on health has risen nearly 2.6 times between 2004-05 and 2009-10 (the estimates for 2009-10 are budget estimates). The Union Health Budget increased from Rs.5,255 crores in 2000-01 to Rs.8,086 crores in 2004-05 and to Rs.21,680 crores in 2009-10 while that of States for 2009-10 was Rs. 43,848 crores.