Introduce Health Savings Account scheme: FICCI-KPMG report

There is a need for the introduction of a Health Savings Account (HSA) scheme linked to a high deductible health insurance cover for end-to-end coverage of healthcare needs, said a joint report by FICCI-KPMG to understand the key imperatives for offering a comprehensive health plan in the Indian market recently.

This scheme will act as a catalyst to bring a major part of the population under the ambit of health insurance.

Also, the centralised health savings scheme should be managed by a government nominated body or privately managed by insurers with centralised fund management, the report added.

The analysis demonstrates that there exists a significant gap in coverage offered by current products and the need for a comprehensive ecosystem of financed healthcare. The joint report by FICCI and KPMG in India has analysed these gaps to develop recommendations on a comprehensive health insurance product as well as the role of various stakeholders such as regulators, government, and the insurance industry.

"Healthcare costs today are going up by the day due to lifestyle diseases in particular and the only way the gap between rising healthcare costs and affordability can be bridged is if the insurance sector develops a sustainable and viable mechanism," Antony Jacob, co-chair, FICCI Health Insurance Committee and chief executive officer and whole time director, Apollo Munich Health Insurance said.

The Indian healthcare industry is driven by out of pocket expenditure at 62 per cent of the entire expenditure and health cover is provided to only 27 percent of the population while remaining 73 per cent is uninsured.

"The concept of a Health Savings Account could, therefore, prove to be a viable option for creating a corpus for meeting future healthcare needs. This will ensure that more and more people have funds for accessing healthcare services, thereby going a long way in realising India's goal of providing healthcare to all," Shashwat Sharma, partner and head, Insurance, KPMG in India said.