India: New universal health insurance scheme to kick off at year-end

The Indian government's flagship project, health insurance for all, is likely to be rolled out in different phases starting by the end of this year.   "The health insurance scheme, which will be a part of the Universal Health Assurance Mission (UHAM), will be the world's largest public health insurance programme," the Health Minister said.

These are grand plans which will grab lots of headlines, but are doomed to fail unless they are implemented properly. Because of the issue of moral hazard, there will be a lot of abuse of these schemes, as a result of which the poor will never benefit.