Covid bills make the middle class poor, the poor poorer

Medical crowdfunding platforms are swamped with appeals from Covid-hit families who used savings and took loans to pay for care

- Himanshi Dhawan & Sonam Joshi

Along with the loss of loved ones, the pandemic’s second wave has left behind another casualty — middle-class dreams. Money kept aside for a home, for an education, for a rainy day has all but evaporated in the last two months as the mad scramble for oxygen cylinders, medicines and hospital beds drained both energy and bank accounts.

CANADA PLANS UPENDED

“It is as if I have nothing left,” says 24-year-old Sakthi Prashanth. The Chennai-based engineering student had been planning to leave for Canada for a Masters in April 2020 when the pandemic put his travel plans on hold. Last month, he and his father were infected with Covid, and the latter didn’t make it. Hospital bills and medicines totted up to Rs 12 lakh, wiping out the family’s savings. With no money and the responsibility of an ailing mother, Prashanth fears his Canadian dream is grounded. “Though I had a full scholarship for my course, the money I had saved over two years for my travel and stay is gone. I need to think of my mother’s health too,” he says. His friends have now started a fundraiser on crowdfunding platform Milaap for his education.

Prashanth’s predicament is not unique. A recent SBI report estimates that Indians may be spending an additional Rs 66,000 crore on healthcare this year. Even before Covid hit, Indians were spending disproportionately from their pocket on healthcare. Government data noted that of every Rs 100 spent on healthcare, Rs 65 was out-of-pocket expenses for Indians. For China, the figure is 35% and for Thailand it’s 10%. The SBI report attributes the spike in healthcare spends to a combination of factors including an increased need for healthcare, sudden rise in prices of medical services and medicines and reduction in family income.