Cancer has emerged as the fastest-growing ailment in India, with its incidence rate increasing by 10-12% year-on-year, according to the Indian Healthscape 2024 analysis by health benefits administrator Medi Assist. The data reveals that cancer incidence, measured as a percentage of claims relative to the overall insured population, rises significantly after the age of 40, with a steeper increase observed among women.
Women are 1.2 to 1.5 times more likely to report cancer-related claims compared to men.
Cardiac conditions ranked second in both the rise in treatment costs and incidence rates, primarily affecting men over 40. According to Medi Assist's insurance data, men have a 1.3 to 1.5 times higher incidence of cardiac ailments compared to women. Group insurance policies reported a higher rate of cardiac claims compared to retail policies.
For children, respiratory ailments were the leading cause of hospitalisation. These conditions also recorded the highest increase in the average cost of treatment, growing by 10-13% year-on-year. Regions like Delhi NCR, struggling with severe air pollution, reported a notable rise in the cost of treatment for respiratory ailments. Karnataka and Maharashtra also experienced a significant increase in respiratory illness cases.
The Medi Assist report highlighted a post-COVID surge in cataract treatments, which now constitute the most common surgical procedure among the elderly.
States such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Haryana saw the highest rise in average hospitalisation costs across various ailments.
Dhruv Rastogi, Senior Vice President and Head of Data Science at Medi Assist remarked, “Our 2024 findings provide crucial insights into the evolving health landscape, from the rising incidence of critical ailments to the increasing financial burden on patients. These insights are vital for driving innovation in insurance products to ensure better health outcomes and cost management.”
