Himachal families spend 46% income on health

In the near absence of health insurance, an average Himachal Pradesh household ends up spending a whopping 46 per cent of the annual income on health expenses, if a serious illness hits at least one member of the faimly, a survey says. The survey has been conducted across the hill state by the National Council of Applied Ecnomic Research(NCAER) and Max New York Life Insurance.

“It was found that 8 per cent of families surveyed had suffered a serious illness in the past year in the state,” Rejender Sud, director and head agency distribution, Max New York Life Insurance said on Wednesday. “For an average household income of Rs 94,184 the annual health expenses including routine and major sickness in HP was Rs 43,748,” the survey reveals.