Healthcare system becomes one of largest sectors of Indian economy

In recent years, the Indian fintech industry has witnessed a remarkable boom, transforming the financial landscape of India. As technology continues to reshape traditional financial practices, the fintech industry has successfully managed to bring in dynamic financial lending solutions. By leveraging innovative technologies to create enhanced financial solutions, the fintech industry is the financial gap while providing access to financial services that were previously denied to the underserved segment.

The Indian healthcare system has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy and yet still, almost half of the overall expense of healthcare services is paid directly by the patients at the point of treatment, creating the need for personalized financing options. In order to make essential healthcare services accessible for the underserved segment, fintech intervention becomes necessary. The industry has endeavored to provide holistic solutions for progressive healthcare, bridging the gap between financing services and the healthcare segment.

Making healthcare services cost-friendly
The onset of the pandemic made a significant financial impact, scaling the cost of medical services to a whole other level. Subsequently, it has also increased India’s OOP expenses with at least 6 out of every 10 patients delaying medical treatments and services. Additionally, to meet these surging medical expenses, the majority of the people are forced to sell their assets or borrow money from friends and family. As a result, the fintech sector has created a harmonious ecosystem that mutually benefits both the healthcare provider and patients by creating a simplified digital healthcare financing solution backed by the prowess of advanced technologies. The digitally-driven financing services eliminate the dependence on unsecured loan institutions, making medical services budget-friendly to avail.

Enabling equal access to healthcare Services for the underserved
The existing health insurance schemes introduced by the government can potentially cover 70% or nearly 95 crores of individuals in India. However, the actual coverage is relatively lower due to overlaps between different health insurance schemes. Recent stats reveal – only 30 per cent or 42 crores of the Indian population is devoid of any health insurance plan. This requires a revolutionary shift in the landscape to meet people’s healthcare needs.

Given the scenario, fintech-enabled healthcare solutions can empower people with financial backup tools such as crowdfunding or easy lending solutions. Offering instant loans with easy approval and repayment plans and utilizing QR technology can bring ease to healthcare financing, making it accessible for the underserved segment with desired and suitable EMI plans. Besides this, instant loan approval services will reduce the dependency on banks, by leveraging data analytics that instantly assess credit history and curate a personalized financing plan for the patients.

Improving health insurance and financial planning
Health Insurance remains the leading means of healthcare financing in the world. But the overall Insurance penetration in India remains significantly low. Not only is insurance penetration low in number but the insurance claim paid is merely Rs 3 lakh, while the average cost of medical procedures is Rs 6-10 lakh.

Dynamic fintech companies can offer feasible healthcare insurance that aims to create a well-integrated model catering towards affordability, access and awareness. In the absence of medical insurance, the fintech industry can offer zero-cost to very low-cost credit to patients at the point of care for medical services which will assist patients by enabling them to split their expenses in multiple EMIs. By harnessing the power of AI and ML algorithms, and using relevant healthcare and financial data, healthcare-focused fintech can help streamline financial services in the healthcare industry.

Final thoughts
Technological advancements have successfully paved their way into the healthcare industry making healthcare financing seamless, secure and more efficient, allowing fintech to create more tailored and cost-saving medical experiences for the end-user. With the amalgamation of finance and healthcare technology, India has opened its door to a world of endless possibilities-boosting the affordable, accessible and more inclusive healthcare ecosystem. The Financial Express