Role of Cooperatives in Achieving Universal Health Coverage in India: An Exploratory Study

With insurance protection gap among the highest in Asia, Indians are vulnerable to health and economic shocks. While India is a lower middle-income country (LMIC), its spending on healthcare is lesser than lower income countries. According to the economic survey 2019-20, the insurance density in India stood at USD 74 and penetration reached 3.7 per cent of the GDP in 2018 (Ministry of Finance, 2020). During the corresponding period, the insurance density and penetration globally were USD 682 and 6.09 per cent, respectively. The penetration of insurance in India is very low and only one in five individuals is covered by some form of insurance (National Sample Survey Organisation, 2019). The penetration of non-life insurance is a mere 0.94 per cent of the GDP and the density is USD19, which is far lower than its Asian peers. IRDAI estimates protection gap to be around USD 400 billion.