The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how people access, consume and prioritize items and services in their daily lives. Over the previous few years, consumerism has driven unabated expansion across all sectors, but the outbreak has refocused attention on goods that are often overlooked yet are critical for survival and growth, the most important of which is personal health. There has never been a greater emphasis on personal health, preventive care, fitness, and mental well-being among people from all walks of life. The Indian healthcare sector is in a unique position to expand dramatically in both sizes and reach. Indians under the age of 35, have started prioritizing personal well-being which has led to an increase in Gym, dental, therapeutic services, and dermatology subscriptions. Due to this in the coming years, the overall size of the health and wellness industry is expected to grow dramatically. Despite the expected increase in the healthcare system, there is still a disproportion between current public health facilities and the population size. Therefore citizens sought private health services to bridge this gap. Yet private health insurance is acquired by a below 1% share of GDP. This leads to an increase in the expenditure on healthcare services by using personal savings and therefore adds a huge financial pressure on individuals.To relax this strain on personal savings, now healthcare system has introduced the ‘BNPL’ – Buy Now Pay Later option. Digital finance has advanced rapidly in India in recent years, due to the massive development of digital infrastructure and security provided to users and providers by ‘Aadhar’.
This has led to an introduction of ‘digital lending’ or in other terms making purchases with monthly EMIs. This option of digital lending was only limited to online shopping, booking tickets, or buying groceries. Ever imagined taking counseling services but not paying for it on the spot or prior to the appointment? Now, this can be opted by using ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ services. Get the necessary service on the spot but complete the payment with ease. This reduces stress and pressure on family members to make a huge one-time expense. This aids them in obtaining quality services without compromising. The triple challenge of access, quality, and affordability in Indian healthcare can be addressed by combining health finance and technology to create an integrated healthcare experience across providers. BNPL has started reducing the gap between quality and affordability. No longer they are two different sides of the coin but hand in hand providing an opportunity to secure the best services. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) programmes have swept the credit sector and are anticipated to expand to a $50 billion market in India by 2026. BNPL is focused more on click-bait purchases like garments, electronics, and many more, but in the near future, it is going to aid in necessity services as well which will be available online as well as offline. The offline BNPL system for the healthcare system is going to be recognized as ‘Care Now Pay Later’ promoting well-being and putting citizen’s needs first.
Imagine being able to effortlessly break payments of your health or wellness services into cheap EMIs the next time without going broke!The future is focused on ‘healthifying’, which is the motto of the up-and-coming Indian startups as well. A healthier population means a strengthened population and strongly immune. This service will reduce chronic stress, anxiety, guilt, depression, and suicide added due to financial pressures.
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