The Debt Trap of Medical Care

A major health problem, appearing suddenly out of the blue, can squeeze the family’s resources to the last drop and land you in a debt trap, as I learnt from Rahul’s case recently.

Twenty- year old healthy Rahul, who hails from a village near Agra, was perfectly well till the day before, playing cricket with his friends. That morning a gnawing pain started in the upper abdomen that increased in severity to a deep boring one and started radiating to his back. He threw up a few times, started sweating and became breathless. His father, Om Prakash, came back from the private sugar mill where he worked as a supervisor, and carried him in a borrowed 3 wheeler to the nearest local doctor.

Sensing something serious, the doctor referred him to a nearby hospital. Having diagnosed Acute Pancreatitis, a condition that could turn potentially fatal, they referred him to a specialized centre. His condition continued to worsen, and Om Prakash could not bear to his only son of 6 children, fight for breath. Unable to risk his son’s life he took a loan of Rs 1 lac from his colleagues, and brought him  to a major corporate hospital in Gurgaon that has the reputation of providing the best services.

Rahul condition remained critical and had to be admitted in the Intensive Care Unit. After many uncertain moments and galloping expenses, his condition stabilized by the 3rd week doctors thought him fit for discharge.

Om Prakash had got back his son but had taken loans of Rs 15 lacs to meet his son’s hospital expenses. He had mortgaged his small house as well as the future of his 5 daughters.

The last 3 weeks had been so tumultuous that he had not had time to think about what the consequences could be.  With a monthly salary of Rs 4500/- how would he ever pay back the loan? What would happen to his daughters’ education. And marriage? What if Rahul had another attack? Or if something happened to him, the only earner?

This is the drama that we see being played out to numerous families in India. Good medical care is what they all need, and emotions often dictate that one should go for the best for someone you love. But when problems come up suddenly, we find ourselves unprepared to face the financial consequences.

With government hospitals either ill equipped or overloaded to cope with the number of patients, and with the gap widening drastically between our financial means and the sky-rocketing costs of good private medical care, middle class Indians are having a tough time deciding what to do.

Medical insurance is perhaps the answer but has still not won the confidence of most Indians as only 15% have it.  And getting them to pay up what they had promised when selling the policy can be harrowing.

The common countryman can only pray that fate does not lead him into the medical debt trap that Om Prakash has fallen into.

As published in HT City ( Hindustan Times) dated 23rd September, 2012.