Hospitalisation has become more privatised and expensive in India between 2017-18 and 2025, despite wider government insurance coverage, government data revealed.
An average non-childbirth hospitalisation in India required an out-of-pocket (OOP) spending of ₹34,604 in 2025, which is 1.64 times an average Indian household’s monthly spending in 2023-24.
The share of people seeking treatment at private hospitals has increased in India, with the cost of private healthcare growing at a much greater pace than public healthcare.
The average OOP spending on medical costs for a treatment was ₹34,604 for hospitalisation (excluding childbirth), ₹14,755 for childbirth, and ₹861 for non-hospitalisation cases.
The private hospital-public health facility ratio of OOP spending on hospitalisation (excluding childbirth) was 7.6 in 2025, compared to 6.8 in 2017-18.
The share of hospitalisation cases (excluding childbirth) at public health facilities decreased from 45.7% in 2017-18 to 39.2% in 2025 in rural areas, and from 35.3% to 32.2% in urban areas.
OOP spending on hospitalisation excluding childbirth, childbirth, and non-hospitalisation treatments increased by 1.88, 2, and 1.42 times between 2017-18 and 2025, respectively.
