Changing perspectives of public health in India: the growing role of health economics

Health economics is a sub-discipline of economics that has significant relevance to public health. The academic discipline of health economics has not evolved in India till now. Since India became independent country, the public health practice in India has revolved largely around public health systems; the private health system has functioned in parallel with negligible regulatory control by the government. The recent launch of a large health insurance program by the Indian government has opened the door of public resources for the private sector in health. It is envisaged that a substantial portion of public money will be diverted to the private sector with little regulation. This situation will potentially change the landscape of public health care delivery in the country.  With this change, the role of health economists is bound to increase, given the increased demand for economic evaluation. Ironically, there is a complete dearth of educational institutions offering specialised training in health economics in India. To fulfil this demand-supply gap, there is an urgent need to introduce the discipline of health economics at master’s level within existing university economics departments and schools of public health. Building on this foundation, academic research degrees in health economics can be evolved to fulfil future research gaps.