Survey finds 80% of Indians with disabilities lack health insurance, over half face rejection

According to a nationwide survey conducted over a period of one and a half years by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), 80 per cent of persons with disabilities have no health insurance, and 53 per cent of those who apply face rejection, often without any explanation.

Unveiling its white paper titled ‘Inclusive Health Coverage for All: Disability, Discrimination and Health Insurance in India’, the report finds that persons with disabilities continue to encounter discriminatory underwriting practices, unaffordable premiums, inaccessible digital insurance platforms, and a widespread lack of awareness of available schemes.

The survey was conducted between 2023 and 2025, covering over 5,000 persons with disabilities across 34 states and union territories.

The report claimed that many applicants are refused insurance solely based on their disability or pre-existing conditions, with particularly high rejection rates among persons with autism, psychosocial disabilities, intellectual disabilities and blood disorders like thalassemia.

The white paper outlines several key recommendations, one of which calls for the immediate inclusion of all persons with disabilities under Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) without any age or income criteria, aligning with the 2024 order that extended coverage to senior citizens aged 70 and above. It calls for enhanced coverage for mental health, rehabilitation, and assistive technologies and creation of a dedicated disability inclusion committee within Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

“Even as the government expands Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) to cover all senior citizens aged 70 and above, persons with disabilities remain conspicuously excluded despite facing equal, if not greater, health vulnerabilities. There is no principled or policy justification for this gap. The continued exclusion of persons with disabilities from affordable and comprehensive health insurance is more than a systemic failure. It is a violation of rights,” said Arman Ali, executive director, NCPEDP.

Indu Bhushan, former chief executive director, Ayushman Bharat, said that the Ayushman Bharat packages need to expand their scope from only treating to also caring. “Ayushman Bharat primarily covers hospitalisation and serious illnesses to protect households — whether or not they include persons below the poverty line — from catastrophic health expenditure. The scheme supports persons with disabilities, but it does not cover the full spectrum of health-related expenditures they face,” he said.

Bhushan said that while universal health coverage does not mean free health services for everyone, it must ensure equal access to quality and affordable healthcare. “Persons with disabilities definitely face higher out-of-pocket health expenditure and are as vulnerable as senior citizens above the age of 70,” he said.

Manmeet Kaur Nanda, additional secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), commented that the department has made it mandatory for all our schemes to be integrated with the Unique Disability (UDID) system. “At Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), we are working extensively to produce quality assistive products. While we have not yet reached very high-end technology, we are progressing steadily. With the IRDAI role and the involvement of the DEPwD, strong convergence is essential moving forward,” she said.