Budget 2019 expectations: Insurers demand hike in government spending on healthcare sector

In a bid to make insurance an affordable sector for general public, the insurer companies operating in India have demanded from the Narendra Modi government to hike spending on healthcare sector in coming budget falling on February 1. They said the government spending in healthcare sector is still below 1 per cent of the GDP hat makes a protection gap of near 92 per cent. The insurance sector experts said that rise in government spending in the sector can help this huge protection gap to come down and make the insurance affordable. 

Shreeraj Deshpande, Principal Officer at Future Generali India Insurance told Zee Business online in a written statement, "The Union Budget 2019-20 holds many expectations even as India's domestic economy is going through a critical phase of growth. Each year during the pre-Budget time, the Indian healthcare industry focuses on the one statistic that refuses to change: government spending money on healthcare stays put at around 1 per cent of the GDP. The healthcare sector can only get affordable if the government revises this upwards. The other point is that hospitals are treated on equivalence with the entertainment industry regarding charges for utilities like power consumption. Cost of medical equipment’s is another pain point which the government needs to work on."

See Zee Business video below:

रिजल्ट सीजन में क्या हो आपकी रणनीति? जानने के लिए देखें मुनाफे वाला #Monday रिजल्ट स्पेशल आज सुबह 10:26 पर। pic.twitter.com/bHCKAn2bvi

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) January 28, 2019

Demanding relief to the family in case of death of breadwinner Vineet Arora, MD and CEO, Aegon Life Insurance told, "India has a huge protection gap of 92 per cent. This puts many families at the risk of financial stress, in case of the death of the breadwinner. A separate section for pure protection plans - Term Plans, outside 80C will help nudge the middle class to take appropriate protection plans for their family.”