Regime-Aware Portfolio Robustness Across Emerging and Developed Equity Markets

Universal Health Coverage remains a key policy goal in India, aiming to expand insurance coverage and reduce households’ healthcare burdens. However, NFHS-5 (2019–20) shows limited penetration, with only 33.9% of men and 29.8% of women reporting an insurance card. This study estimates a Multinomial Probit across three categories—no insurance, at least one public scheme, and only private/other insurance to examine individual characteristics associated with lacking insurance from a demand-side perspective. Smaller households and increasing age reduce women’s likelihood of accessing any insurance and so do Muslims show lower investment. Higher-income groups, regardless of gender, favour private insurance, while lower-income groups lean toward public schemes. Hindus and other religions are more likely to hold public or only private/other insurance and men from other castes prefer private insurance. The findings underscore the need for targeted awareness and better-priced private premiums to improve overall health insurance penetration in India.