The Janani Suraksha Yojana, a Union government initiative, has led to a 15 per cent rise in institutional child birth and a proportionate decline in deliveries at home across India, with women delivering in government hospitals.
A study of healthcare in the decade, by Shamika Ravi, Rahul Ahluwalia and Sofi Bergkvist of think tank Brookings India, finds that while Indian households still overwhelmingly depend on private providers for healthcare services, it is more significantly so for in-patient care. The dependence however is declining.
The study titled 'Health and Morbidity in India (2004-14)' and based on NSSO data, attributes this decline in dependence on private hospitals to the fact that rural women seek more public healthcare under the JSY for delivery.
The JSY is a conditional cash transfer programme launched in April 2005, and it aims at improving maternal and neonatal health by promoting delivery in institutional settings.
The study also points to a significant association of health insurance coverage and hospitalisation. The overall out of pocket health expenditure has risen significantly, and the households with catastrophic health expenditures have risen significantly.
The good news is that overall, the percentage of households that fell below the poverty line due to OOP health expenditures has remained unchanged at approximately 7 per cent of the population, over the ten year period.
