The Hindu Business Line : Medical costs: Not a `healthy' picture for senior citizens

But the picture only gets grimmer as one moves into the senior citizens bracket and counters escalating costs in healthcare, say officials working on issues related to the elderly.

As one more Senior Citizens Day will get celebrated today (October 1) -- the hard facts that Helpage India officials put out provides cold comfort. India currently has about 81 million senior citizens and is projected to touch 177 million in 2025 and 324 million in 2050.

"And of the 81 million, more than 52 million live at or below the poverty line. Some of them earn less than $1 a day. ," says Mr Inderjit Singh Dhillon, Director General of Helpage India. Be it the creeping cost of medicines, the accessibility of healthcare centres or the coverage of medical insurance - senior citizens are the worst hit, he observes.

Dr Sheilu Sreenivasan, President, Dignity Foundation, quite agrees: "The best of post-retirement plans do not prepare you for a health setback. Senior citizens get hit since decreasing interest rates has made income flow dwindle. But they are most discriminated against by insurance companies, which look at pre-disposed illnesses. Their targets are the 35 to 40 year age group. Another area where the health-related costs escalate is because of the paradigm shift in treatment. Doctors no longer rely on their judgement, but on the outcome of numerous expensive tests."

But Mr A.V. Purushothaman, Director and General Manager with New India Assurance counters: "We do not discriminate against senior citizens. When a 50-year old customer comes to us for the first time, there would be some additional requirements like a medical check-up. The reason we do this is because, in this segment, the claim is adverse for us - we pay out more than we collect. That is why we encourage people to plan their health coverage early. But for no reason is anybody denied insurance cover."

According to Mr Ratan Jalan, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd: "Affordability of medicines and healthcare is an issue and insurance is the solution. While hospitals have a geriatrics department, they need to look at the segment in a more focused fashion. It has not got the kind of attention that it should in the country."

Helpage's Mr Dhillon suggests: "Pharma companies could pitch in by making generic drugs available at affordable costs at primary health care centres, the first reference for old people in rural and semi-urban areas. Given that our medical infrastructure is not adequate, companies could also look at sponsoring mobile hospitals, to get healthcare to the door-steps of the elderly."

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