The average health insurance claim size in India for the financial year ended 31 March 2024 (FY24) rose by 11.35% to INR70,558 ($842), up from INR62,548 in FY23, according to the "ACKO India Health Report 2024".
The jump in claim size was driven by “the staggering rise in healthcare costs and medical inflation in India”, said the report. Healthcare inflation in India was 14% in 2023, it also said.
Men on average claimed INR77,543, while women claimed INR69,553 (excluding maternity claims).
Cancer
The report said that a 3% increase is estimated in cancer cases from 2020-25. With this, India will soon become the cancer capital of the world.
Tumour risks soar by 2.8 times after the age 40 in India. The number of hospitalisations pertaining to neoplasms, or tumours that may or may not be cancerous sees a 2.8x jump between the age of 31-40 (3.81%) to 41-50 (10.61%).
The average age of a person diagnosed with breast cancer in India is 52 compared to 63 in the US and Europe. For lung cancer, the average age of a person is 59 compared to 70 in the west.
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Indians are only one medical emergency away from bankruptcy
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62% of total healthcare expenses are paid out of pocket in India
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23% of hospitalisation expenses are financed through borrowing
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7.9% is the average annual Indian household expenditure spent on healthcare
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82% of urban households in India are not covered under any health insurance scheme