India Medical Insurance

India is the land of the Taj Mahal, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Bollywood, and home to 17% of the World’s populations. India has a population of about 1,173,108,000 people, with a land mass of only 3,287,263 sq km, which is about a third of the size of the United States. India varies widely in language, topography, and customs from region to region. Touring India presents a challenge, not only for the traveler, but also for travel services, such as accommodations, air/land/water travel, safety, and health services.

India uses a universal health care system that is managed by the constituent states and territories of India. It is regulated through The National Health Policy within the Constitution. Even with these regulations in place India still has problems with an underfinanced health program, which often leaves government health facilities understaffed, with poorly maintained equipment and only capable of providing basic health care. The public healthcare financing is also dwarfed by private sector spending, in 2003 private companies accounted for 82% of India’s expenditure on healthcare. This has lead to nearly 40% of hospital beds and 70% of hospitals in India being run by private companies. As of 2007 about 25% of the Indian population had access to western medical facilities, the majority of which are located within urban areas. 66% of India’s hospitals and health centers reside in urban areas, making it difficult to access quality medical care in rural areas as an expatriate. The Indian healthcare system does not cover expatriates in any way and any treatment will require either valid insurance cover or out-of-pocket payment. For this reason it is recommended to obtain an international medical insurance policy to protect you and your family from the costs of any unforeseen medical issues that could arise.

In an attempt to lessen the financial burden on the poor, India launched its first medical insurance plan in 1996. The “Janarogya Yajana” plan covered people between the age of 5 and 70 for pre and post hospitalizations costs for up to 30 and 60 days, costing about $122 per annum. Less than 4 million people ended up participating in the policy because patients required to pay for treatment themselves and then place a claim for reimbursement, a process that could take up to 6 six months. Since then public health care has not been performing well, this has allowed private medical insurance plans to expand and grow within India. By 2002 so little insurance was available to the people of India that 98.4% of health expenditures, per household, was out of pocket. The poor people of India would often have to take on debt or sell assets to be able to the pay costs of medical care. This caused an estimated 20 million people within India to fall back under the poverty line each year due to debt because of medical costs.

Despite the lack of overall medical care provided for the people of India, Medical Tourism is on the rise. There are a various number of advanced private medical care facilities located throughout India, in locations such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Noida, and Delhi. The popularity of the private Indian health care industry has grown because they offer some of the best-in-class treatment for a fraction of the cost it would be in the western world. These private health facilities do extremely well in fields such as transplants, cardiology, joint replacement, orthopedic surgery and urology, offering associated procedures for less than a third of the amount the same procedures cost within the United States. In 2004, the Indian health sector attracted an estimated 180,000 medical tourists, and this number has been growing by 25-30% annually. Alternative medicines like Aurveda have also been growing in popularity like many over traditional medicines, and have been able to thrive in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.

Travel within India can be dangerous and as an expatriate one must be constantly vigilant. Airports, bus and railway stations contain touts that may use aggressive tactics to get travelers to buy tickets on tours that may not have any affiliation with reputable commercial service providers. Roads in India are occasionally dangerous due to poor maintenance and are often shared with carts, cattle, people and other livestock. Medical care in these rural areas is also below modern standards and should only be used to provide the most basic type of medical care. Local facilities outside of major cities shouldn’t be used for any complicated medical care. With difficult traveling conditions in both rural and urban areas, getting a medical insurance plan that includes medical evacuation cover is possible and will help protect you and your family should a medical issue arise.

Several diseases still effect India’s population today, making it a risk factor for expatriates when traveling to this country. Hepatitis A, Typhoid fever, Dengue Fever, Japanese encephalitis, Malaria, HIV/ AIDS and Rabies are the more dangerous diseases present within India. Mosquito-borne diseases are seen in both rural and urban areas and expatriates should take preventative measures to lessen the chance of being bitten. Waterborne diseases are also a problem, including bacterial diarrhea, because of water supply and sanitation issues throughout India. Expatriates are advised to only drink water from trusted sources, such as hotels or restraints. When traveling to rural areas expatriates should only drink bottled water due to improper water sanitation standards.

India is one of the countries where Polio is still present. Most cases of Polio are unnoticed because symptoms of Polio are mild and flu like and go unnoticed. 5 to 10 percent of cases suffer from aseptic meningitis, inflammation of the outer covering of the brain, while only 1 percent of cases will result in paralysis. People contract the disease from contaminated food or water sources, and it can be passed on from the saliva or feces of an infected person. There is no cure for polio and modern treatment is focused on relief of symptoms and providing a quick recovery. Best way to avoid catching Polio is to maintain proper hygiene and do not eat or drink from any questionable sources. Keeping up to date on vaccinations is strongly recommended

With border disputes between India, Pakistan and China, it is advised that Expatiates should avoid border areas of India. Within Jammu and Kashmir there are frequent armed clashes, terrorist activities and violent demonstrations. Targets of terrorist attacks have included favorite tourist areas. Since 2008 there have been coordinated attacks and bombings in New Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Mumbai killing a more than 270 people. Special care needs to be taken on the lead up to and on days of national significance because there is a higher risk of terrorist aggression and attacks.

Crime is also a concern when traveling to India. Police records show high incidence of crimes against women in India. Women travelers are often victim to unwanted attention which can lead to sexual harassment and assault. It is advised to avoid traveling alone at night, especially in less populated areas such as city streets and beaches. Petty theft, such as pick pocketing, is common in many markets, airports, bus and train stations, so as an expatriate it is important to keep a keen eye on all your belonging and have copies of all of your travel documents in case they are actually stolen. Expatriates have also been assaulted and robbed after consuming drugged food or drinks. If any emergency should arise, the emergency line phone number is 100 and an additional line 112 for mobile phones. While the private hospitals can handle any medical problem that should arise a international health insurance policy is advised to help protect against the cost of medical insurance.

If you would like to find more information about traveling to India, or to receive a free International Health Insurance Quote, feel free to contact one of our dedicated advisers today.