Modicare off to a mixed start, says analyst GlobalData

A research note from industry analyst GlobalData concludes that India’s new national insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat has potential to be a “game changer,” while warning that there are “policy issues which need to be addressed by the government to make it sustainable for all the stakeholders.”

The program is designed to cover the hospitalization costs for poorer rural families, and certain occupational categories of urban workers, up to $7,000.

Dubbed “Modicare,” after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scheme  has been criticized for the amount of money set aside to cover costs, just 200 billion rupees, or around a fifth of 1% of India’s GDP.