A familiar scene plays out across Indian households. Families sit together, debating whether to renew their health insurance. The question is never about the need for protection, but about whether the expense can be managed. Premiums already stretch budgets, and, until recently, the added burden of GST deepened the hesitation.
The government’s recent GST reforms on health insurance is, therefore, more than financial relief. It reflects an acknowledgment that safeguarding health is not a private concern but a national priority, vital to citizens’ wellbeing, strengthening households, and fuelling national progress.
The conversation about affordability, however, cannot stop with premiums. To truly understand the challenge, it is important to look at what lies beneath the charges that appear on a hospital bill. Each line item, whether for a room, a scan, or a procedure, is supported by a vast framework of readiness that quietly sustains safe treatment.
Tertiary care superspeciality hospitals, such as ours, are both capex-intensive and resource-intensive. Hospitals must maintain intensive care units staffed with skilled teams, enforce rigorous infection control, preserve sterile environments, and ensure advanced diagnostics are available round the clock. Technology and equipment must be upgraded and safety standards upheld without compromise. These unseen investments are not optional; they are the very foundations of trust and superior clinical outcomes.
At the same time, medicine continues to advance, transforming patient care and outcomes, and enhancing quality of life. Robotic surgery reduces complications, precision oncology tailors treatment to the individual, AI-enabled diagnostics provide earlier disease detection, and molecular therapies offer hope where none existed before. These advances require resources, yet their true value is not measured merely in financial terms, but in healthier years gained, suffering prevented, and futures restored.
Viewed this way, health care spending is not just an expense, but an investment in dignity and longevity. As Indians, we should be proud that this is one sector where we have made significant early inroads in bringing the most advanced care and technologies.
Having said that, hesitation persists. The real barrier in India has rarely been the absence of doctors, hospitals or technology. It has been the fear of cost. Too often, families delay a scan, postpone a check-up, or turn to home remedies, not because they disregard their health, but because they worry about the bill. This hesitation has consequences.
Apollo’s ‘Health of the Nation’ study revealed that one in four individuals screened was already living with diabetes or hypertension, and more than 65 per cent had fatty liver disease, many without symptoms. Conditions that could have been managed early become more complex, more expensive, and, sometimes, irreversible when left untreated.
The GST reform on health insurance is a welcome step. By making coverage more affordable, it encourages families to secure protection. It even reduces the risk of out-of-pocket expenditure that has long caused hardship. Moving forward, the responsibility now lies in building further momentum. Policymakers, insurers and hospitals must work together to enhance simplification of processes, strengthen transparency, and increase awareness. Families, in turn, must begin to see health insurance not as a discretionary expense, but as a vital safeguard for their wellbeing.
When households no longer postpone care out of fear of cost, India will be both healthier and more confident. The cost of neglect will always be higher than the price of care. Achieving this shift will mark true progress, when care is regarded not as a burden to defer but as a foundation to rely on.
Dr Preetha Reddy is Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.