New Delhi- 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty in a single year because of having to fund their own healthcare, and out of this, 38 million fell below the poverty line due to spending on medicines alone. These data are a recently published research paper based on cross-sectional analysis of National Sample Survey Office .
It is true that the total expenditure on out-patient care is significantly higher than the in-patient care. Further, as per the 71st Round (January-June 2014) of the National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) on Health in India, purchase of medicine accounted for around 72% in rural sector, and 68% in urban sector, of the total expenditure on non-hospitalized treatment of ailments.The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Smt Anupriya patel stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha