As per a report by Brookings India, Health and Morbidity as of 2014, only 15.2% of the population in India had any form of health insurance in 2014. This number has not seen any significant change in the recent years. Moreover the population is ageing and there is also a rise in lifestyle diseases. At the same time, due to insufficient hygiene and sanitation, the number of people affected by communicable diseases is also high. So we Indians spend a huge amount on medical care from our savings. 
It seems that the government has realised the gravity of the situation as Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, announced the National Health Protection Scheme in this year’s budget. It has been dubbed ‘Modicare’. The key features of this scheme are – 

• Provision of hospitalisation cover of Rs. 5,00,000 a year to 10 crore families. 
• It covers prevention of medical issues and promotion of health related care.
• The government has promised Rs 2,000 crores to the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna which will be the route for the National Health Protection Scheme will be initially routed. 
• The National Rural Health Mission has been allocated Rs 9,752.82 crore.
• The flexible pool for non-communicable diseases, injury and trauma has been granted Rs 1,004.67 crore.
• But at the same time, the allocation to the National Health Mission has been reduced.
• Many new medical colleges have been announced and the National Health Policy has been allocated funds to set up health and wellness centres all across the country.

The announcements are indeed noble. But are they adequate enough? Most experts say that the amount provided for insurance cover for 10 crore people is not enough as premium per person for successful health insurance should be about Rs. 3,000 per person. This means a budget of Rs. 30,000 crores is required. At the same time, it has revived a plan that was existing but was not fully operational. Moreover the sum assured might be enough for most medical issues and complex or costly issues can be taken on a special basis. Moreover if there is insurance, more care centres will become operational in Tier II and Tier III cities leading to better access to health facilities for the people.
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The not-so-good aspect is that there has not been much groundwork done to implement the scheme. It requires not just money but care centres all over the country, many more doctors especially in the rural areas and awareness among the public regarding the scheme.  It has also been seen that in the past such schemes have fizzled out. We will have to wait and watch how this scheme will fare.