Healthcare financing which deals with the generation, allocation, and use of financial resources in the health system has become an area of major policy relevance globally in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In India, public financing of healthcare comes largely from state government budgets (about 80%), and the balance from the Union government (12%) and local governments (8%). Although effective healthcare financing is essential, it has been difficult to achieve, so far. The thrust of healthcare financing should be on devising mechanisms to improve access, reduce out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) for the general population, and thereby lessen economic hardships and impoverishment. Most importantly, it should focus on creating an evenly distributed healthcare infrastructure as well as a streamlined protocol that makes treatment payouts align with the right treatment approach and right outcomes.
