Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. On the one hand, the increasing prices of daily essential things have increased the burden of inflation on the common people. And on the second hand, in the last five years, the expenditure on treatment after hospitalization due to any disease has increased at a doubling rate. Insurance claims for treatment of infectious diseases and respiratory disorders have grown exponentially. Market experts have expressed concerns that the inflation rate is around 7 percent, whereas medical inflation is increasing at a rate of more than 14 percent. For the treatment of infectious diseases, the average medical insurance claim used to be Rs 24,569 in 2018, which has increased to Rs 64,135 in 2022. That is, in 5 years, the expenditure on the treatment of this disease has become 160 percent costlier. In megacities like Mumbai, this expenditure has increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 80,000 in five years.

Treatment costlier 18% annually

The average claim for treatment of respiratory diseases has increased to Rs 94,245 in 2022 from Rs 48,452 in 2018, which means that treatment has become costlier at the rate of 18 per cent annually. While in Mumbai, this expenditure has increased from Rs 80,000 to Rs 1.70 lakh.

Covid pandemic makes things worse

After the outbreak of Covid pandemic, there has been an increase in the expenditure on treatment. The expenditure on the materials used for the treatment has also increased. Earlier the share of these materials used to be 3 to 4 per cent in the total bill, which has now increased to 15 per cent. Medical inflation is increasing at a faster rate than other inflation. There is an inflation rate of 7 per cent but medical inflation is increasing at double the rate. Due to the increase in the demand for health insurance, the treatment has also become expensive.