Punjab, Haryana families spend 40-45% on health

Charanjit Ahuja
Posted: 2008-10-08 01:13:49+05:30 IST
Updated: Oct 08, 2008 at 0113 hrs IST

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Chandigarh, Oct 7 : A study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Max New York Life Insurance has revealed that on an average, households in Punjab spend 44.9% of their income on health expenses, while the figure stands at 40% for households in Haryana.

The survey, conducted across 23 states, says that Punjab stands ninth in the rankings with a health index of 0.655 and Haryana nineteenth, with a health index of 0.473.

For an average household in Punjab, with an income of around Rs 77,325, the annual health expenditure is Rs 43,729, while for Haryana, which has an average household income of Rs 82,901, the annual health expenses amount to Rs 33.958.

Talking to FE here on Tuesday, Rajinder Sud, director and head (agency distribution), Max New York Life Insurance, said the spending on health in Punjab and Haryana is “Substantial and it is causing a dent on household incomes in the two states”.

Revealing the results of the survey to FE , Sud said with the growing incidence of diseases, caused due to change in lifestyle, health insurance is recognised as one of the primary needs to deal with. Issues such as health expenses would be a major source of stress for the two states. The overall percentage of households with health insurance was found to be just 1.59% and 0.58%, in Punjab and Haryana respectively.

Sud said the National Council of Applied Economic Research is an independent institution that gives support to government and non-government organisations as well as the private sector in empirical economic research. The results of the study would be an eye opener and makes a strong case for making health insurance an essential aspect of financial planning.

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