The Business of Health Care and the Challenge of Health Security: The Case of Rajiv Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Until the mid-1980s, India's public health care institutions offered free health care to everyone, while the private sector catered to those who can afford. Over the years, however, public health facilities have deteriorated, and the country failed to achieve equity in access to and provision of health care. In 2007, a social health insurance scheme known as the Rajiv Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme (RAS) was introduced in Andhra Pradesh in 2007 to provide health care for poor households. This chapter evaluates the functioning of the RAS, focusing on the extent to which it has been successful in addressing the health-related insecurities in Andhra Pradesh. It also examines the impact of RAS on the development of various levels of the state's health care system, considers different types of hospitals, and explores how the RAS can be made sustainable.