AffordPlan, a first-of-its-kind financial technology platform that enables healthcare savings for individuals, registers an annual growth of 300 percent in maternity patient care. Set up in 2016, AffordPlan has expanded its presence in five key cities including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. Of the total cost incurred during a treatment in private hospitals, 90 percent cost is out-of-pocket expenses which includes ultrasound scans, X rays, medicines, etc*. The fintech platform has received an overwhelming response from the hospitals and patients because of the unique nature of the product and services as it brings down the overall cost (including out-of-pocket expenses) of treatments by as much as 15-20 percent.
AffordPlan has partnered with 800 hospitals and healthcare ancillaries like pharmacies, path labs, etc. across the country. It has successfully tied up with over 60 percent hospitals in the small and midsize category in New Delhi NCR, helping patients to plan, save, and pay for planned, non-emergency, medical procedures, such as maternity, dental, eye care, knee replacement and more. It smoothens the cash flow for the patient by breaking up the lump sum amount into smaller manageable installments.
Some of the notable partner hospital names in key cities include:
- Delhi NCR: Batra Hospital & Medical Research Center, B M Gupta Hospital, Faridabad Medical Centre among other standalone units.
- Mumbai: Mahavir Maternity and General Hospital, Currae Gynaec, Pooja Maternity, Govandi Nursing Home, Mahavir Maternity and Surgical Hospital among other standalone units
- Bangalore: Gunasheela, Motherhood, Cloudnine, Koshys and other standalone units.
Tejbir Singh, Co-Founder and CEO of AffordPlan said, “Healthcare spends impact all in the course of their lifecycle, albeit differently, and the majority of Indians are plagued with spends that are unplanned and out-of-pocket. Through our savings product, hospitals and patients can co-design flexible payment plans for their medical treatment. AffordPlan offers a manageable payment structure, developed specifically for an individual’s need based on their liquidity.”
AffordPlan allows patients to save an amount they are comfortable with on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis and to make payments as per their convenience through a number of platforms including cash payment at the AffordPlan desk or the local pharmacy; bank transfer and online payment; or the payments can even be collected from the customer’s doorstep.
While it addresses treatment across dental, eye care, knee replacement procedures, the sizeable chunk of the product caters to maternity. According to the 2011 Census of India, women comprise of almost 48.5% of the total population of the country, out of which 16% women are pregnant annually. Expenses for a normal delivery alone cost anywhere between INR 15,000/- – 150,000/- without accounting for unexpected occurrences that may need urgent medical intervention and therefore further expenditure.
According to National Family Health Survey-3, the private medical sector remains the primary source of healthcare for 70% of households in urban areas and 63% of households in rural areas. While the facilities have been improving across the sectors, so have been the high out-of-pocket expenses. In fact, the surge in out-of-pocket costs of private healthcare has led many households to incur catastrophic healthcare expenditure, threatening the household’s ability to maintain even a basic standard of living.
In the light of poor insurance penetration (73 per cent of the Indian population is uninsured), and high out of pocket expenses (over 90per cent in pvt healthcare) Indians still rely on personal savings to plan medical care. There has been limited technology intervention and financial innovation to make quality healthcare more affordable and accessible.
