Throes of a super hero

IIPM MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

If poor insurance base is the area of concern in India, then developed countries are reeling under high health costs. USA has an annual health spend averaging $2 trillion; yet expensive health cover is playing havoc on citizens. According to NCHC, insurance premiums skyrocketted by 7.7% two years ago, making it difficult for a normal citizen to avail health benefits. When premiums rise two times faster than the prevailing inflation, then sustainability becomes an issue. European countries spend close to 10% of their GDP on healthcare, yet citizens have to sometimes shell out more money to stay medically insured. There is a higher rate of bankruptcy in the West due to high insurance premiums than anywhere else. Interestingly, even though developed countries boost of a high human development indexes, citizens are consuming lesser in order to save & pay for medical insurances. This tendency has significant repercussions on these economies as lower demand leads to lower production and so on. It costs $12000 annually for a person to stay insured in the US, in India it takes a little over a $100!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative