India, April 20 -- The Government of India has issued a release:

Snapshot:

Rural residents utilised Government hospital/public health facilities (35%) more often compared with the urban residents (25%).

Nearly universal institutional deliveries:

Medical institution

Out-pocket-medical expenditure

Average (Rs.)

Median (Rs.)

Govt. hospital/Public health facilities

6,631

1,100

Charitable/Trust/

39,530

10,000

Private hospital (incl. Govt. empanelled)

50,508

24,000

All

34,064

11,285

Medical institution

Out-pocket-medical expenditure

Average (Rs.)

Median (Rs.)

Govt. hospital/Public health facilities

2,299

801

Charitable/Trust/

19,612

13,000

Private hospital (incl. Govt. empanelled)

37,630

32,000

All

14,775

2,851

A. Morbidity and Hospitalization:

 96.2% overall, with only 3.8% of births occurring at home.

NGO run hospital

NGO run hospital

A. INTRODUCTION

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the findings of the Survey on Health through a report titled 'Household Social Consumption: Health'. The survey was conducted during January - December, 2025 as part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). A brief overview of the survey in terms of coverage, sample design, conceptual framework etc., is provided in the Endnote.

B. Childbirth:  Nearly universal institutional deliveries were reported. About 96% of childbirths during the last 365-day period took place in hospitals.

The Survey on Household Social Consumption: Health constitutes a significant source of empirical data, providing insights into the prevalence of morbidity, the spectrum of ailments reported by households, and the patterns of healthcare utilization across the Indian population. Data collected in this survey is used to compile indicators on morbidity, hospitalization, childbirth, and households' out-of-pocket spending on medical and healthcare services.

C. Health insurance coverage has expanded compared to the level reported in the previous NSS survey (2017-18), with government-sponsored schemes accounting for the majority of enrolments.

The National Sample Survey (NSS) initiated exploratory morbidity studies in the 1950s, leading to the first full-scale morbidity survey in its 28th round (1973-74). Since then, another six surveys on health have been conducted, before the current survey (80th Round, 2025).

B. KEY FINDINGS

B1. Morbidity during the last 15-day period

I. Proportion of Persons Responded as Ailing (PPRA) during last 15 days

Figure 1 shows age-specific PPRA (%) during the 15 days for six broad age-groups, separately for male, female and combined population at all India level.

Figure 2 below shows age-specific PPRA (%) during the 15 days for six broad age-groups, separately for male, female and combined population separately for rural and urban sectors.

The highest rate of illness reported in the age-group 60 years & above, followed by the age-group 45-59 years and children aged 0-4 years.

II. Nature of ailments experienced during last 15 days

Figure 3 below illustrates the percentage distribution of major ailments reported by the Indian population during the last 15 days, across different age-groups.

III. Out-patient care: Treatment of ailments experienced during the last 15-day period, by healthcare service provider

B2. HOSPITALIZATION DURING the LAST 365-Day period

I. Rate (%) of hospitalization (excluding childbirth) during last 365 days by age-groups and gender

Reporting of hospitalizations begin at a high level in very young children (0-4 years), stay low through youth and young adulthood, then rise again with age, peaking in older adults.

B3. CHILDBIRTH DURING the LAST 365-Day period

Percentage distribution of childbirths by place of delivery

B4. POPULATION COVERED BY HEALTH INSURANCE

Percentage of persons covered under any health insurance or financing scheme: All-India

Reporting of health insurance coverage has increased. In 2017-18 (previous NSS health survey), only 14.1% of rural and 19.1% of urban people were covered. By 2025, coverage rose to 47.4% in rural areas and 44.3% in urban areas.

B5. EXPENDITURE

I. Out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPME) on hospitalization (in-patient care) during the last 365-day period, all India

The average out-of-pocket medical expenditure per hospitalization case along with median out-of-pocket medical expenditure are presented below.

Note:  1. Government hospitals/Public health facilities include HSC/PHC/CHC, AAM, etc.

2. Private hospitals empanelled under Government health financing scheme/insurance viz. AB-PMJAY, CGHS/ECHS/other Central Government health schemes (e.g., Railways etc.), State Health Insurance Schemes, State Government-supported medical reimbursement (for employees), ESIS/ESIC etc., have been considered in the 'Private hospital' category.

II. Out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPME) per institutional childbirth during the last 365-day period, All-India

The average out-of-pocket medical expenditure per hospitalisation case for childbirth along with median out-of-pocket medical expenditure is presented below.

Note:  1. Government hospitals/Public health facilities include HSC/PHC/CHC, AAM, etc.

2. Private hospitals empanelled under Government health financing scheme/insurance viz. AB-PMJAY, CGHS/ECHS/other Central Government health schemes (e.g., Railways etc.), State Health Insurance Schemes, State Government-supported medical reimbursement (for employees), ESIS/ESIC etc., have been considered in the 'Private hospital' category.

Endnote: A brief about the geographical coverage, sample size, sample design, conceptual framework of the Household Social Consumption: Health

A. Geographical coverage

The survey covers the rural and urban areas of the whole of India (except the villages in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are difficult to access).

B. Sample size

A total of 17,520 FSUs (9,575 villages and 7,945 urban blocks) were surveyed for canvassing the schedule on Health (Schedule 25.0). The number of households surveyed was 139,732 (76,296 in rural areas and 63,436 in urban areas).

C. Sample design

The survey has been conducted following a multi-stage stratified sampling design, where First Stage Units (FSUs) are UFS (Urban Frame Survey) blocks in urban areas and villages in rural areas as per Census 2011 (updated by removing those villages which are urbanized and included in the latest UFS) except for rural areas Kerala, where Panchayat wards have been taken as FSUs. The ultimate stage units (USUs) are households for both the sectors. Both the FSUs and USUs have been selected with Simple Random Sampling Without Replacement (SRSWOR). In the case of large FSUs, large villages/UFS blocks are notionally divided into smaller units of more or less equal size, known as sub-units.

D. Conceptual Framework of Key Indicators

Survey on Household Social Consumption: Health gives estimates of indicators on morbidity and hospitalization like Prevalence of morbidity, rate of hospitalization, utilization of both public and private health care facilities, household's out‑of‑pocket spending on medical and healthcare services. The key indicators generated from the survey are defined below:

(a) Proportion of persons responded as ailing (PPRA) during the 15-day period

The 'Proportion of Persons responded as ailing (PPRA)' is defined as the estimated number of individuals in the population who reported an ailment during the last 15-day period, expressed as a proportion of the estimated total population. The figure is expressed as percentage.

PPRA (%)100 X total no. of persons in population reported as ailing total number of persons

(b) Hospitalization rate

The hospitalization rate is defined as the estimated number of hospital admissions (in-patient treatments) during the last 365-day period, expressed as a proportion of the total estimated population. However, in the computation of this, cases of admission to hospital for childbirth are excluded.

Hospitalization rate (%)100 X total number of hospital admissions  during last 365 daystotal number of persons (including deceased former member who died during last 365 days)

(c) Average out-of-pocket medical expenditure per hospitalization case

Out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPME) (Total Medical expenditure) - (Reimbursed amount (by insurance company or employer))

Medical Expenditure: Medical expenditure includes doctor's/ surgeon's fee, medicine, diagnostic tests, bed charges, other medical expenses (attendant charges, physio therapy, personal medical appliances, blood, oxygen, etc.)

Average OOPME per hospitalization caseTotal'out-of-pocket' medical expenditureTotal number of hospitalization cases

Note: Households (or persons within households) are segregated in sector (rural/urban) by their place of domicile, and not by the place of treatment.

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