GS II - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Why NRIs are choosing India for medical tourism?
- Realities of rising healthcare costs abroad.
- NRIs can save anywhere from 60-90% on major surgeries in India.
- With relaxed norms , affordable policies and ease of claims, growth has trickled down to health insurance too.
- Over the last one year, adoption of health cover among NRIs has risen by more than 150%.
- Next affordability, India offering care at less than a third of international prices.
- Medicines are up to 90% cheaper compared with global markets.
Health insurance premium
- In India, they are often 25-40 times cheaper than in the U.S. or GCC countries like Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
- In fact, almost half of NRI health insurance claims now come from Tier-3 towns and cities. It is true metros like Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram continue to remain trusted choices. Access to quality care in these regions has been made possible by better infrastructure and rise of digital platforms.
(Tier 1 cities having a population of 1,00,000 or more, while Tier 2 cities range from 50,000 to 99,999, Tier 3 cities from 20,000 to 49,999, and Tier 4 cities from 10,000 to 19,999.)
- Another finding is most claims by NRIs are tied to respiratory diseases, infectious ailments, cancer, and heart conditions. They are not one-time occurrence but recurring health needs demanding long-term planning.
Policy pull, digital push
- Government initiatives like Heal in India and the growth of digital-first platforms have further simplified the process. NRIs can explore, compare and buy policies remotely.
- The convenience of digital access, coupled with the affordability of premiums, has turned insurance into a natural extension of the medical tourism story.
- India’s medical tourism market is on track to cross $13 billion, and that growth opens a clear opportunity for the industry.
