- The Asian Development Bank released a report yesterday
- Ayushman Bharat Yojana was praised in this report
- Life expectancy of older women in India is expected to increase the most by 6.4 years
Many countries, including India, are lagging behind in achieving universal health coverage, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in its ‘Aging Well in Asia’ report released on Thursday. Among these countries, health insurance penetration among the elderly is the lowest at 21 percent.
Asia Pacific lags behind in providing health insurance to the elderly in the country. India needs to cover health insurance for all to maintain its economic growth rate and meet the needs of rapidly growing population.
Many countries, including India, are lagging behind in achieving universal health coverage, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in its ‘Aging Well in Asia’ report released on Thursday. Among these countries, health insurance penetration among the elderly is the lowest at 21 percent. However, South Korea and Thailand have achieved universal health coverage.
Aiko Kikawa, senior economist at ADB, said expanding health insurance coverage would improve the situation and allow people over 60 to be more productive for the economy. Also, the presence of an aging population could have high dividends for countries like India. Expanding essential services and activities that enhance the physical and functional capacity of the elderly is also important, he said.
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Praise for Ayushman Bharat Yojana
Aiko Kikawa, senior economist at ADB, said India has taken several steps to provide better health facilities to its poor population. Health coverage of the elderly has improved with the introduction of schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, which provides cashless health insurance to the poor.
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Older people can increase their contribution to GDP
According to the report, the number of people over the age of 60 in developing Asia-Pacific countries will nearly double to 1.2 billion by 2050. This would be about a quarter of the total population. In such a situation, apart from pension and welfare programs, the need for health insurance will also increase.
These economies will have the opportunity to reap dividends in the form of additional productivity from the elderly, said Albert Park, ADB’s chief economist. Due to this, the GDP of the Asia-Pacific region can increase by an average of 0.9 percent.
Life expectancy in India could increase by 6.4 years
In India, the life expectancy of older women is expected to increase the most by 6.4 years. In Kazakhstan, Georgia and Hong Kong, the increase will be 4.6 years. In the case of older men in India, it can increase by 5.7 years.
India will benefit from a young population
The report said that in India, Bangladesh and Indonesia more than half of the people without access to health services make up the bottom 40 percent of the population. The impact on economic growth due to population aging in the decade 2031-40 will be less in the case of India as the proportion of young population will still be high then. On the other hand, insurance regulator IRDAI has also removed the age limit of 65 years for purchasing health insurance policies from April 1, 2024. This will increase access to health insurance in the country.
