MoneyVedam

In India, the medical and hospitalization costs have spiraled thru the roof in the last decade. While access to medicines and hospitals have become more prevalent, their costs have soared to unaffordable levels. The opening up of the insurance sector to private insurers in 1999 by IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) paved the way for more people to be covered by health insurance policies popularly known as "Mediclaim". The coverage could be obtained either through corporate group health insurance policies or by an individual directly purchasing a health insurance policy. Similarly with the unprecedented growth of the pharmaceutical industry in the country, a wide range of medicines is made available locally. Why then have the prices soared so much? Let us look at the background. The Indian pharma industry.. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the world's third largest in terms of production volume and has received $11.3bn in FDI last year. It is ex...

More and more hospitals are opening up across all cities and towns in India. The good news is that it increasingly provides access to medical facilities for a higher percentage of our population. However the cost of availing these services have increased manifold which is covered either by insurance policies or personal savings. According to NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization), escalating medical costs are pushing more people into indebtedness across all income groups. In India, the government finances only 6% of the medical costs, while a whopping 75% comes from the individual's personal savings. In contrast, the Brazilian government takes up 48% of the cost and an individual shells out a far lesser 45%. How much does it cost? Broadly the medical conditions fall into four groups: Lifestyle diseases - Diabetis, Cholestrol, respiratory, internal medicine Geriatric conditions - Eye, ear, Ortho & Neurological Unknown/new conditions - Cancer, Infections (antibiotic ...

Ten years ago, the cost of an engineering course was Rs.5-20k p.a - today it costs Rs.1-3L p.a. A medical degree that costed Rs.10-25k p.a a decade ago now costs Rs.2.5-3L p.a, while a business degree that costed Rs.10-50k is now costing Rs.5-15L p.a. Put in financial perspective, over the last decade, "education inflation" in engineering is 30% p.a, 40% p.a in medicine and 50% p.a in business courses - way way higher that our CPI inflation which is at sub-10% p.a. The scenario overseas is equally bad - if you consider US, the education inflation over the last decade has been 5% p.a - what costed $150k ten years ago is now $240k. However the dollar-rupee conversion rate further deteriorates it, so a 2-year course that costed Rs.80L a decade ago in US (including living expenses) would now cost Rs.1.5 crores. What do the numbers say? Per AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) India produces 15Lac engineers p.a thru its 3300+ engineering colleges - more than a thi...

In the recent years a plethora of activities related to child development has led to sky rocketing costs of education. Talk to any parent and their foremost priority is educating their kids by giving them the best option available in the country. There does not seem to be a limit or budget when it comes to child education (the only other category that enjoys the same treatment is healthcare). No wonder education is now a very successful & lucrative business. Let us look at some of the child related expenses that form the education kitty of parents. School fees Tuition fees (private tutions) School bus fees Accessories - School uniform, bag, lunch bag, Shoes Gadgets - Desktop, laptop, Printer & stationery Not to mention the special coaching and developmental classes outside of school, some of which include but are not limited to: IIT Coaching Cricket Coaching Tennis Badminton Swimming Learn a sport Martial arts Dance/Music/Instrumental ABACUS Computer skills...