₹58,572 crore was paid as health premiums by policyholders in 2020-21, which included the first wave of the virus. This amounted to a year-on-year increase of 13%, the same as in 2019-20.
A growing chunk of these premiums is coming from the retail set, which shows rising propensity of individuals to cover themselves rather than rely on their employers.
In 2020-21, this share was 45%, the highest in four years. Meanwhile, in the first four months of 2021-22, which included the second covid-19 wave, total health premiums increased by a brisk 34% on a year-on-year basis.
While this would have added a few millions to the population covered, India still needs to bring 700-800 million more people into this fold. Push to Pull Another data point