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Paper short abstract

India have amongst the highest burden of out-of-pocket health expenditure in the world. In contrast other neighbouring South Asia countries have pioneered universal healthcare systems. So, India will benefit from enacting framework legislation on the right to healthcare to stem privatisation.

Paper long abstract

South Asia is the only region in the world which stands-out with the highest burden of out-of-pocket health expenditure. In India, the largest country in the region, 45 percent of current healthcare expenditure continues to be borne by patients and their caregivers. Healthcare costs are the single most important reason for household impoverishment. The Indian government spends less than 1.5 percent of GDP on healthcare. This underinvestment also exacerbates acute healthcare inequalities among genders, ethnicities, classes, religions and castes. This paper will contrast India’s corrosive privatisation with the universal healthcare models in South Asian and beyond. In contrast, neighbouring Sri Lanka has long been a pioneer in building a system of free universal healthcare. Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan have also built innovative healthcare systems while guaranteeing the constitutional right to free healthcare. Globally, fifty-eight per cent of countries guarantee the right to health for all citizens in their constitutions. Many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America have also enacted framework laws to protect the right to health. Similarly, this analysis will make the case for the enactment of framework legislation on the right to healthcare in India to stem privatisation and emulate more egalitarian South Asian countries.