Health Insurance penetration in India: Barriers to adoption and Trust Issues
Health Insurance penetration in India: Barriers to adoption and Trust Issues ABSTRACT: While health insurance stands at the intersection of health care and financial protection, its positive potential is mostly unrealised in India due to a variety of barriers that are many and complex. Health insurance is undergoing a phase of rapid growth, but the public is still affected by high premiums compared to income, a lack of simplicity in policy terms, delays in claims settlement, and systemic public distrust. There have been multiple governmental initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, some targeted state initiatives, as well as regulatory policies from the IRDAI designed to address these issues, as they emphasised standard product offerings, identification of products that did or didn't meet the needs of the uninsured, and the advancement of coverage and access to the private sector. This paper argues that only a holistic approach that integrates regulation, technology, and ...