In the latest Indian Family Health Survey, household health insurance penetration has risen to 60%

More than 60% of Indian households are now covered by a health insurance or financing scheme, according to findings from the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), released by the Union Health Ministry on Friday. This is a massive jump from 41% in the previous NFHS-5 survey (2019-21).

According to the report, rural households lead with 62% coverage, while urban coverage stands at 56.4%. The massive nationwide study, led by the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai, collected data from more than 679,000 households in two phases between May 28, 2023 and December 31, 2024.

The report also says the country faces a growing adult health crisis, with 30.7% of women and 27.3% of men now overweight or obese. Obesity peaks in cities, affecting 42.8% of urban women and 36.3% of urban men. High blood sugar has also increased and now affects 17.8% of all women and 20.9% of all men, caused by poor lifestyle habits.

The rapid growth in insurance coverage has been strongly supported by government social security initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, which have extended financial protection far into rural India.

“This expansion is a major step towards universal health coverage and equal access to quality health services across the country,” the health ministry said.

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Better health care for children, mothers

Apart from changes in insurance, the survey highlighted that India’s population trends show the birth rate stabilizing at 2.0. It also showed that institutional deliveries increased from 88.6% in NFHS-5 to 90.6% in NFHS-6, while deliveries attended by skilled health personnel improved from 89.4% to 91.3%, reflecting better access to trained health care providers during delivery.

The proportion of mothers who used iron folic acid (IFA) tablets for 100 days or more during pregnancy increased significantly from 44.1% in NFHS-5 to 54.9% in NFHS-6. IFA consumption for 180 days or more also improved substantially from 26% to 37.8%.

The percentage of babies born safely in hospitals and health facilities increased from 88.6% to 90.6%. Continuity of maternal care has also improved, with antenatal care coverage increasing from 92.6% to 95.9%.

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But the data pointed to a big difference in how these babies are delivered. While the national average for cesarean births rose to 27.2%, the figures show an extreme disparity between public and private health facilities. Cesarean deliveries in private hospitals reached 54.1%, while public health facilities recorded only 16.9%.

The survey also revealed that 95.6% of children receive most of their vaccinations at public health clinics. Overall, the full vaccination coverage of children aged 12 to 23 months increased from 83.8% to 87.1%.

The greatest success in childhood immunization was brought by the rotavirus vaccine, which protects against severe diarrhea. Its coverage more than doubled from 36.4% to 85.4%. The study showed that the overall health of the children also improved, with the prevalence of acute respiratory infection symptoms falling from 2.8% to 1.9%.

Stunting (short height for age) among children under five fell from 35.5% to 29.3%, while severe wasting (acute, life-threatening malnutrition where a child is underweight for their height) fell sharply from 7.7% to 5.2%. Initial feeding habits also improved, with the percentage of babies breastfed within the first hour after birth rising from 41.8% to 50.1%.

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