Page 37 - The Insurance Times October 2024

Inclusive Health

Insurance: Ensuring Access

to Affordable Healthcare

for Low-Income

Populations

Access to affordable healthcare remains a critical challenge for low-income and informal sector
workers worldwide. With rising healthcare costs and the lack of financial safety nets, millions of
people are forced into poverty each year due to medical expenses.

A ccess to affordable healthcare remains a criti- into extreme poverty each year due to out-of-pocket health

cal challenge for low-income and informal sec- expenses. This situation is particularly dire in developing
tor workers worldwide. With rising healthcare
countries, where informal sector workers-who represent a
costs and the lack of financial safety nets, mil-
substantial portion of the labor force-often lack access to
lions of people are forced into poverty each year due to formal healthcare services.
medical expenses. Inclusive health insurance programs,
designed to provide affordable healthcare coverage to Informal workers are typically not covered by traditional
underserved populations, have emerged as essential tools health insurance programs because they do not have stable
in addressing this crisis. These programs aim to ensure that employment contracts or employer-sponsored insurance.
low-income families and informal sector workers, who of- This leaves them vulnerable to catastrophic healthcare ex-
ten lack employer-provided health insurance, have access penses, leading to a cycle of poverty. The need for inclusive
to necessary medical services without incurring financial health insurance programs, which are specifically designed
ruin. to cover these populations, is therefore urgent.

This blog explores various inclusive health insurance schemes Government-Led Inclusive Health Insur-
that have emerged globally, with a special focus on the ance Programs
impact of government initiatives like India's Ayushman
Bharat program. By analyzing the successes and challenges Government initiatives have played a central role in the
of these schemes, we can better understand how inclusive development of inclusive health insurance schemes aimed
at low-income and informal sector workers. These programs
health insurance can be scaled to provide affordable
healthcare for all. often involve public-private partnerships and are subsidized
by the government to make healthcare coverage affordable.
Below, we examine some of the most impactful initiatives
The Healthcare Crisis for Low-Income
globally.
Populations
Globally, low-income populations face significant barriers to 1. Ayushman Bharat (India)
accessing quality healthcare. According to the World Health India's Ayushman Bharat scheme, launched in 2018, is one
Organization (WHO), over 100 million people are pushed of the largest government-funded health insurance pro-

The Insurance Times October 2024 33