startling banals

22 December 2006

Health(?) Insurance

71% Indians lack health cover

Brings up several questions. Stirs up a lot of shit in one's mind. The condition of Public Health Centres, Rural/Civil Hospitals, quacks, ultra-expensive private hospitals, the 'cut' practice and general hopeless scenario.

On the other hand, there is the US system of Health Insurance- pay an annual premium and receive almost all possible health care. But the amount is not small. About 10-15% of your income.

Who would be able to afford this kind of system in India? More and more people will be left out. Maybe insurance is good for middle class people but it is not a solution to the health problems of everyone. Definitely not an excuse for the govt to avoid its duty of providing health facilities to everyone.

People used to fall sick 50 years back. But the general quality of life was better. Cleaner food and environment. Now we create the problem and give money to insurance companies and pharma companies with the hope of better health.

The invention of new and more effective treatment/medicines has been more or less offset by the degradation in quality of life which creates new diseases which in turn drives the demand for more medicines.

2 Comments:

Ok ! but whats the point here ? this sounds like haiku :)
Blogger b v n, at 22.12.06  
thanks for the haiku compliment :p !
yaar i am not good at writing good coherent posts. my point was to ask a question about what can be solution.
and US system is just all about how to take back the money a person gets in his salary - like making him spend on a thousand uncorrelated things.
Blogger anish, at 22.12.06  

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