I was a very very small child when my mom used to warn me of not playing in mud , not eating street food etc… and when I asked for the reason , she used answer that they are hazardous to our health . Having the fear of going to hospital and injections ,I used to stop doing most of the them.

Thus , we can come to a conclusion that basic  health education for almost everyone starts from childhood and home. However , there are a few exceptions and many diseases  which are hard to anticipate .So,  Governments of many countries established Health departments , Medical colleges , Public health centers , Government hospitals etc… And as a further development the concept of Universal Health Care is introduced.

Universal Health Care is also called as ‘universal health coverage’ , ‘universal coverage’ or ‘universal care’ .Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people and communities can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.

Some universal healthcare systems are government funded, while others are based on a requirement that all citizens purchase private health insurance. Universal healthcare can be determined by three critical dimensions:

a)who is covered

b)what services are covered, and

c) how much of the cost is covered.

It is described by the World Health Organization as a situation where citizens can access health services without incurring financial hardship. The Director General of WHO describes universal health coverage as the “single most powerful concept that public health has to offer” since it unifies “services and delivers them in a comprehensive and integrated way”. One of the goals with universal healthcare is to create a system of protection which provides equality of opportunity for people to enjoy the highest possible level of health. And as a part of Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations member states have agreed to work toward worldwide universal health coverage by 2030.

The main three objective of Universal Health Care( UHC ) are:

*Equity in access to health services – everyone who needs services should get them, not only those who can pay for them;
*The quality of health services should be good enough to improve the health of those receiving services; and
*People should be protected against financial-risk, ensuring that the cost of using services does not put people at risk of financial harm.

UHC is firmly based on the WHO constitution of 1948 declaring health a fundamental human right and on the Health for All agenda set by the Alma Ata declaration in 1978. UHC cuts across all of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and brings hope of better health and protection for the world’s poorest.

Universal Health Care @ India :

The National Health Protection Mission, dubbed “Modicare” after the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would offer 100 million families, or about 500 million people living in poverty, up to 500,000 rupees ($7,011) of coverage each year.If rolled out effectively, the NHPM would be a significant step toward achieving universal health coverage, a key Sustainable Development Goal for 2030.

Every year, 55 million Indians are propelled into poverty because of out-of-pocket expenditure on health care, primarily medicine costs. The country currently spend just 1.4 percent of its gross domestic product on health care — one of the lowest expenditures in the world. Last year, however, the country released its new National Health Policy, the first in 14 years, and pledged to boost health care spending up to 2.5 percent by 2025.While care in government-run hospitals is technically free for everyone, the system is marred by long queues, poor quality of care, and a lack of human resources.

However , there are probable chances of UHC being implemented in India if this scheme of NHPM is properly implemented . The following are a few steps that can ensure its implementation:

*Allowing private sectors to service beneficiaries will lead to both effective implementation of NHPM and ensures transparency and accountability of private sector at least to some extent(As, the private sector exerts huge economic and lobbying power in India . And basically, patients have no idea what procedures they need and when you really don’t need a surgery, you’re convinced by the doctor that it’s necessary, while the doctor gets a cut from the hospital chain.)

*Taking steps like implementing proper awareness programs and effective disease prevention programs will help in the enforcement of UHC through NHPM  because NHPM is basically focusing on in- paitent care and it actually doesn’t do anthing thing to prevent health problems.

* Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric ID system recently rolled out in India, could be used to verify people’s eligibility and enrol at a large scale. However, people have to be informed properly in a language and manner they understand and it has to be planned very well.

Therefore, taking a few steps like preventing implementation paralysis , regulating private sectors and improving awareness among people will help in implementation of Universal Health Care in India.