Indians Already Ravaged By Virus Now Slammed With Medical Debt
People are being forced to choose between food and health care.
A deserted market during lockdown restrictions in Agra, India, on June 6.
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
In the shadows of the Taj Mahal, shoemaker Shyambabu Nigam worked for years to save enough money to buy his wife Anju a small house with a view of the iconic 17th century mausoleum. Yet in just a matter of months, they were forced to give it up.
After Anju fell seriously ill with Covid-19 last year, the couple turned to a mix of subsidized government hospitals and more expensive private clinics to treat the illness and pay for two open-heart surgeries that followed. The total costs amounted to more than 600,000 rupees ($8,230) — roughly six times Nigam’s annual income.