The Indian Healthcare System: Public and Private Hospitals, Local Health Insurance, Emergencies, Medicines and Health Risks

The national health accounts of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, published on 27 May 2026 for 2022-23, describe shared financing: public spending represents 43.7% of total health spending, or 1.43% of GDP, direct household payments 43.4%, and social protection schemes (including Ayushman Bharat and cover for civil servants) 9.9%. Direct payments have fallen by nearly 21 points since 2013-14, when they reached 64.2%. This structure explains why patients often pay for private care themselves, before any reimbursement by their insurer.

The care offer combines public hospitals, private clinics and hospitals, dispensaries and diagnostic centres. National public reference institutions, such as AIIMS in New Delhi or JIPMER in Pondicherry, also train doctors and receive complex cases. France Diplomatie indicates that the large cities have quality private hospitals and clinics, while several tourist areas (Agra, Varanasi, Jaisalmer, Manali) offer few resources beyond first aid. The page living in India helps you choose a city according to its access to care.

India has no universal social security scheme for the whole population. Three arrangements exist, and their access conditions should be known before relying on any of them.

• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY: public hospital insurance of up to 5 lakhs of rupees per family per year, intended for eligible Indian citizens on socio-economic criteria. Since late 2024, all citizens aged 70 and over are entitled to it, whatever their income, on the basis of the age shown in Aadhaar (National Health Authority). A French expat does not qualify.
• ESIC: insurance for employees of establishments with at least ten people whose pay is below 21,000 INR a month. It provides medical, surgical and obstetric care and free medicines with no spending cap in its approved dispensaries and hospitals, as well as maternity benefits of 100% of average daily wage for up to 26 weeks (CLEISS). The 21,000 INR ceiling is far below the pay required for the employment visa.
• Private insurance: Indian and international contracts give access to private clinics, sometimes with direct billing. This is the usual route for expats, together with the CFE and the employer’s group contract.

The guide to healthcare systems around the world explains how to compare these models, and the page healthcare reimbursement in India details who pays in each situation.

Patients choose their doctor directly, general practitioner or specialist, in a practice, in a clinic or at the outpatient consultation of a hospital. For a long stay, it is useful to identify on arrival a neighbourhood doctor, a hospital with an emergency department and a reference institution for specialities, and then to ask your consulate about French-speaking practitioners. Private-sector fees vary with the city, the facility and the type of room: a written quote before any planned procedure, and a request for prior approval from your insurer for a hospital stay, avoid unpleasant surprises.

The French embassy reminds us that the French state never pays medical costs or medical repatriation: France Diplomatie calls an assistance contract or insurance covering medical costs, surgery, hospitalisation and repatriation essential. Medical evacuation from an isolated region to a metropolis or to France should likewise be arranged before departure.

The national emergency response system rests on the single number 112: it handles calls, text messages and alerts from the “112 India” app and coordinates the response of the police, the fire service and health services. The historic numbers are integrated: 100 for the police, 101 for the fire service and rescue, 108 for the ambulance and 181 for help for women and children. It is wise to memorise 112 and 108, to note your address in English and to know the hospital closest to your home.

In an emergency, an assistance contract reachable 24 hours a day saves time: keep the contract number in your phone and in your wallet. The competent consulate general and the embassy in New Delhi inform French nationals in serious situations. See also repatriation and assistance and how a medical repatriation unfolds.

Medicine prices are regulated by the 2013 price control order: the national pricing authority sets ceiling prices for 935 formulations on the national list of essential medicines as of 1 December 2025, and manufacturers must sell within these ceilings. Antibiotics and many treatments appear in Schedules H and H1 of the drug regulations: their retail sale requires the prescription of a registered doctor, and Schedule H1 tightens control over certain antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis drugs.

For a chronic treatment, it is advisable to leave with a prescription in English stating the name of the active substance. Medicines imported for personal use must be part of the traveller’s luggage and declared to customs, and the quantity of a single medicine cannot exceed one hundred average doses (central drugs control organisation). A doctor on site confirms the local equivalent of a French treatment.

France Diplomatie lists among mosquito-borne diseases chikungunya, dengue, malaria, Zika and Japanese encephalitis, and recommends repellents, covering clothing and mosquito nets. The national vector-borne disease control centre counts 121,824 confirmed dengue cases and 131 deaths in 2025, after 233,519 cases and 297 deaths in 2024 and 289,235 cases and 485 deaths in 2023; transmission follows the rainy season and varies by state.

• Water and food: cholera, typhoid fever and leptospirosis are prevented by hand hygiene, bottled water and well-cooked food.
• Rabies: India accounts for more than a third of cases worldwide; any animal bite or scratch calls for an immediate consultation.
• Tuberculosis: resistant strains are reported in the Mumbai and Pune area.
• Altitude: acute mountain sickness affects hikers above 2,500 metres.
• Air pollution: France Diplomatie reports severe pollution in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta and advises an N95-type mask during peaks. The air quality index of the Central Pollution Control Board has six levels, from 0 to 50 (good) to 401-500 (severe), and its daily bulletin should be checked before outdoor activities; people with asthma or heart conditions adjust their outings.

Vaccines on the French schedule must be up to date. Depending on the length and destination of the stay, France Diplomatie also mentions vaccines against hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, yellow fever, meningococcus ACWY, rabies, Japanese encephalitis and, for children under 15, tuberculosis. A visit to an international vaccination centre, six to eight weeks before departure, makes it possible to build the schedule. Specific health measures may apply on arrival depending on the country of origin: the “last minute” section of France Diplomatie flags them.

Before leaving, it is better to gather medical records, prescriptions and a vaccination certificate, to take out insurance covering hospitalisation and repatriation, and to compare several plans. Expat health insurance and the guide to international health insurance present the criteria to examine: ceilings, coverage zone, evacuation, prior medical history.