6.8 Million of India’s Poorest Got Treated For Cancer by New State Health Insurance in Just 7 Years

India’s Health Minister just reported that a national insurance program has treated an astonishing 6.8 million people for cancer, three-quarters of whom live in rural areas.

The cost of the work amounted to $1.5 billion, described in the Indian counting system as 13,000 crore.

Managed and paid for by the country’s flagship health insurance program called Ayushman Bharat, patients could get financial assistance to fight breast, oral, cervical, and lung cancers, as well as metastatic melanoma, chronic myeloid leukemia, and Burkitt’s lymphoma.

Being that it’s India, nothing about this effort was small, and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda said that there were 200 individual insurance packages, included in which were 500 different cancer treatments spanning the traditional realms of radiation oncology, chemotherapy, and surgical oncology, with palliative care being offered as well.

Additionally, those living below the poverty line have been able to avail themselves of one-time financial assistance up to $17,500, or 1.5 million rupees, provided they or a loved one already have cancer.

Minister Nadda also said that the program offers many cancer medicines for 50 to 80% of the cost by trading in generic, rather than name-brand drugs, according to the Times of India. 289 different oncology drugs were reduced in cost by half under the program.

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Launched in 2018, Ayushman Bharat is the world’s largest health insurance program, the government claims, covering hospitalization care on a needs-based model at the level of the individual family with a special focus on the lower 40% of income earners in the country.

Looking over the last 7 years of work and progress, it’s an amazing accomplishment with a population as wide and diverse, and a bureaucracy as large and federalized, as India’s.

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