Chandigarh– The Health Department, Haryana, has refuted certain recent media reports regarding Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in the state, stating that the reports present misleading conclusions based on selective and erroneous interpretation of data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) 80th Round on Household Social Consumption: Health. The department clarified that these reports fail to consider the broader structural, epidemiological and healthcare utilization factors influencing expenditure patterns in Haryana and do not accurately reflect the overall performance, affordability and expanding reach of the state’s public healthcare system.
A spokesperson of the Health and Family Welfare Department stated that Haryana’s public hospitals continue to provide healthcare services at substantially lower costs compared to private hospitals. The average hospitalization cost in public hospitals is significantly lower than in private healthcare facilities, demonstrating the affordability and accessibility of government healthcare services in the state.
The spokesperson said the higher OOPE observed in Haryana is primarily driven by structural and epidemiological factors rather than inefficiency in the public healthcare system. These factors include a growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiac ailments, increased dependence on private diagnostic and pharmacy services and delayed healthcare-seeking behaviour, which often leads to higher treatment costs at advanced stages of illness.
Haryana represents a “middle-transition state” with improving healthcare utilization and rising institutional care. While the state has better healthcare access and infrastructure compared to several states, the increasing demand for specialised and advanced healthcare services also contributes to higher expenditure patterns. The relatively higher expenditure in some public healthcare cases should be viewed as an outcome of a maturing healthcare system with increasing access to advanced medical care rather than as evidence of systemic inefficiencies.
Haryana has made substantial progress in expanding institutional healthcare access and strengthening public healthcare delivery. Institutional deliveries in the state have reached approximately 96.2 percent, while public healthcare utilization in rural areas stands at nearly 66.8 percent. Overall public healthcare utilization in the state has crossed 61 percent, reflecting growing public trust in government healthcare institutions.
Haryana has significantly strengthened its healthcare infrastructure over the years through expansion of medical colleges, district hospitals, primary healthcare centres and diagnostic services. The state has also improved road connectivity, emergency referral systems and digital healthcare management, leading to greater access to institutional care across rural and urban areas.
