Household health insurance penetration jumps to 60% in India's latest family health survey

More than 60% of Indian households are now covered by a health insurance or financing scheme, according to the 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 the way with 62% coverage, while urban coverage stands at 56.4%. The massive nationwide study, managed by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai, gathered data from more than 679,000 households in two phases between 28 May 2023 and 31 December 2024.

The report also said the country faces a mounting adult health crisis as 30.7% of women and 27.3% of men are 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 spiked, and now affects 17.8% of all women and 20.9% of all men, driven by poor lifestyle habits.

The rapid growth in insurance coverage has been heavily supported by government welfare initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, which have expanded financial protection far into India's rural heartlands.

“This expansion marks a critical step towards universal health coverage and equitable access to quality healthcare services across the country,” the health ministry statement said.

The proportion of mothers consuming 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 medical facilities rose from 88.6% to 90.6%. Continuity of maternal care also improved, with antenatal care coverage expanding from 92.6% to 95.9%.

However, the data highlighted a major divide in how these children are delivered. While the national average for Caesarean section deliveries rose to 27.2%, the numbers show an extreme gap between public and private healthcare facilities. C-section deliveries in private hospitals touched 54.1%, while public health facilities recorded just 16.9%.

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

The biggest success story in childhood immunization came from the rotavirus vaccine, which protects against severe diarrhea. Its coverage more than doubled from 36.4% to 85.4%. The general health of children has also improved, the study showed, with the prevalence of acute respiratory infection symptoms dropping from 2.8% to 1.9%.

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