NSO survey shows better health-seeking behaviour, relatively low medical charges
Health-seeking behaviour in India is improving as the proportion of the population reported ailing (PPRA) in 2025 nearly doubled from 2017-18 figures, with rural area numbers going up to 12.2% from 6.8% and those of urban areas rising to 14.9% from 9.1%, according to the latest findings of the National Statistical Office (NSO) in the 80th round of the household consumption health survey released on Wednesday.Expansion in coverage under government health insurance and financing schemes rose more than threefold — increasing to 45.5% from 12.9% in rural areas, and 31.8% from 8.9% in urban areas, the NSO reported.
Institutional deliveries have risen to 95.6% in rural areas, and to 97.8% in urban areas, the survey said.
Covering both rural and urban areas across the country, the survey canvassed 1,39,732 households, including 76,296 households in rural areas and 63,436 households in urban areas.
The findings of the NSO noted that median out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPE) per case of hospitalisation in 2025 has been recorded as ₹11,285, indicating that relatively low expenditure was incurred in over half of the cases of hospitalisation in the country.
Only a small number of high-cost cases were observed to push up the average (mean value), the NSO said.
“This shows that high expenditure is not widespread but limited to specific cases requiring specialised treatment. Moreover, the OOPE in more than half of the entire hospitalisation cases in the public health facilities incur only ₹1,100. Importantly, for non-hospitalisation (outpatient) care, the median OOPE in public health facilities is zero, reflecting that a large proportion of citizens are able to access essential healthcare services entirely free of cost,’’ the survey said.
India has also registered a decline in infectious diseases and a rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular conditions.
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