In terms of health insurance for senior citizens, India ranked as one of the lowest countries among Asia-Pacific nations. It needs to expand universal health coverage to meet the rapid increase in the ageing population and sustain growth momentum, a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) claimed. In the report titled Ageing Well In Asia prepared by ADB, it was found that South Korea and Thailand have achieved universal health coverage, while others like India are lagging with the lowest health insurance coverage among the elderly population at 21 percent. At the 57th Annual Meeting of ADB, it was also mentioned that Asia witnesses longer lifespans, hinting at the development success, hence, forming comprehensive policy reforms to support the welfare of older people is an urgent need here.
Asian Development Bank’s senior economist, Aiko Kikkawa shared that schemes like Ayushman Bharat, which offers cashless healthcare to the underprivileged have seen a significant improvement in health coverage since its launch. Expansion of this further will only improve the condition of these people and make people above the age of 60 more productive for the economy. She further added that if the older citizen is employed, then the silver dividend will be higher for the country. Apart from bringing everyone under the ambit of universal health coverage, she also emphasised the need to expand essential services and interventions that would boost elderly citizens’ physical and functional capacity.
As per reports, about half of the people do not have access to healthcare in countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and India and are in the bottom two wealth quintiles. The impact on economic growth due to the rise of the older citizen population in the country in the decade 2031-40 will be less in India because it still has a higher proportion of the young population contributing to the growth of the country.
The reports assume that by 2050, the number of citizens above the age of 60 in Asia and Pacific countries will double to 1.2 billion. This will be a quarter of the total population. In that scenario, apart from pension and welfare programs, the need for health insurance will also significantly increase. ADB Chief Economist Albert Park shared these countries can reap the benefits of the silver dividend in the form of additional productivity from the senior citizens, which would boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 0.9 percent.
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