Access to Healthcare services among the Elderly in India: Evidence from LASI 2017-18

Ageing is a global phenomenon. Various social and economic factors affect the health outcomes of older people (13.9% of the world’s population), which means that persons in privileged socioeconomic groups may have varying access to healthcare services. We use data from LASI Wave 1 to document the magnitude of inequity faced by the older population across various socio-economic groups in accessing healthcare in India. In doing so, 31,902 observations of individuals aged 60 and above have been analyzed. A composite index has been constructed using outcomes variables affecting one’s access to healthcare (e.g., immunization availability, exposure to ill-treatment, discrimination, financial support, insurance availability, and scheme awareness). Chi-square test has also been performed upon the classified index, to assess group differences. Additionally, to further assess the extent to which socio-economic factors are affecting one’s access, binary indicators/outcomes (e.g., exposure to ill-treatment, financial support, and insurance availability) were analyzed using Multiple Logistic Regression (MLR), while continuous indicators/outcomes (e.g., perceived discrimination, immunization and scheme awareness scores) were modeled through Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). Results show that there are small but statistically significant variations across socio-economic groups in their access to healthcare and knowledge of welfare programs. This shows how important it is to plan for demographic changes that include everyone–through addressing both experiential and material access disparities.