Published Apr 23, 2026 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 23, 2026 | 8:00 AM
Government hospital costs are far lower across all southern states.
Synopsis: Southern states record consistently higher hospitalisation costs than the national average, with Telangana at the top, according to a new survey. Although public hospitals offer low-cost care, private hospitals and other factors push up average spending across states.
When Indians fall ill and need hospital care, where they live can shape how much they pay. In Telangana, the cost of falling sick is now the highest in the country.
A survey released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) found that Telangana records the highest out-of-pocket spending per hospitalisation among major states. This shows growing concerns over healthcare affordability.
The 80th Round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) on Household Social Consumption: Health, based on data from over 1.39 lakh households collected through 2025, estimates that an average hospitalisation in Telangana costs ₹52,743, nearly 55% higher than the national average of ₹34,064.
This dataset, the most comprehensive of its kind in nearly a decade, shows a clear pattern. Healthcare costs are rising across India, but southern states, especially Telangana, are at the sharper end of this trend.
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Southern India, as a region, consistently records higher hospitalisation costs than the national average, the survey shows.
Among major states, Telangana tops the list at ₹52,743, followed by Tamil Nadu at ₹48,288, Kerala at ₹41,410, Karnataka at ₹40,599, and Andhra Pradesh at ₹39,170. Only Puducherry, at ₹24,418, falls below the national average.
This pattern challenges the idea that healthcare costs vary simply with income levels. It points instead to structural differences in how healthcare is delivered and priced across states.
Across southern states, one factor drives high costs: private healthcare pricing.
In Telangana, a hospital stay in a private facility costs an average of ₹72,561, among the highest in the region. Tamil Nadu records even higher private costs at ₹80,923, while Kerala stands at ₹56,150, Karnataka at ₹53,259, and Andhra Pradesh at ₹58,077.
These costs are not marginally higher than in public healthcare; they are multiples of it.
Government hospital costs are far lower across all southern states. In Telangana, the average cost of hospitalisation in a public facility is ₹5,856. In Tamil Nadu, it drops to ₹1,364, while Kerala and Karnataka record around ₹9,000 per hospitalisation.
The contrast is stark. In Tamil Nadu, private care is nearly 60 times more expensive than public care. In Telangana, it is about 12 times higher. Even in states with smaller gaps, the difference remains large.
In practice, the choice of hospital—public or private—determines the financial burden more than any other factor.
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Telangana’s position at the top of the national cost table is not driven by a single factor. It comes from consistently high spending in both rural and urban areas.
Urban hospitalisation costs in the state average ₹59,043, well above the national urban average of ₹46,774. Rural costs stand at ₹48,023, also far higher than the national rural average of ₹32,884.
Some states offset high urban costs with lower rural spending. Telangana does not. Costs stay high across geographies.
This lack of a low-cost buffer pushes the state’s average above all others.
Tamil Nadu shows one of the most unusual findings in the dataset.
The survey shows that charitable and NGO-run hospitals in the state have an average cost of ₹1.24 lakh per hospitalisation, the highest for any hospital category in any state.
This is nearly three times the national average for charitable hospitals and higher than private hospital costs in Tamil Nadu.
The figure likely comes from large tertiary care institutions that handle complex, advanced cases. Patients referred to these facilities often need specialised, high-cost treatment.
Still, the number stands out and raises questions about how “charitable” healthcare is defined in practice.
In Karnataka, average hospitalisation costs are ₹40,599, placing the state in the middle of the southern range.
The data shows a strong influence of high-end healthcare facilities, especially in urban centres.
Charitable hospitals in Karnataka record an average cost of ₹68,009, the second highest in the country after Tamil Nadu. Urban private hospital costs are also among the highest in the region, which shows the premium healthcare market in cities such as Bengaluru.
For patients who need specialised treatment, costs can rise sharply.
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Kerala records an average hospitalisation cost of ₹41,410, placing it among the higher-cost states.
Private hospital costs in Kerala average ₹56,150, while public hospital treatment is far cheaper at around ₹9,433.
Maternal care stands out. The average out-of-pocket spending for a private hospital delivery in Kerala is ₹49,029, far higher than public hospital costs, which stay below ₹5,000.
These figures show a broader pattern across the South: private care consistently commands a premium.
Andhra Pradesh records the lowest hospitalisation cost among major southern states at ₹39,170, but this is still above the national average.
Private hospital costs in the state average ₹58,077, lower than in Telangana and Tamil Nadu but still far higher than public healthcare.
The rural–urban gap in Andhra Pradesh is relatively narrow, with rural costs at ₹39,704 and urban costs at ₹38,244.
This more even cost distribution keeps the state’s overall average lower than its neighbours, even though private care remains expensive.
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Across southern India, government hospitals remain the most affordable option by a wide margin.
The NSS data shows that the median cost of hospitalisation in public facilities nationally is just ₹1,100. For outpatient care, the median is ₹0.
Southern states show similar levels of affordability. In many cases, patients pay little or nothing because services are subsidised and medicines are free.
Yet affordable public care has not reduced overall spending. High private sector costs continue to dominate.
The NSS 80th Round does not explain why costs vary so widely across states. The patterns it shows are clear.
Southern India has developed one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the country, especially in cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru. It offers access to high-quality, specialised care.
That access comes at a price, and households bear much of it.
In Telangana, the effect is stark. It has the highest hospitalisation costs in the country and no meaningful low-cost buffer within the state. As a result, the financial burden of illness is higher here than elsewhere in India.
In other southern states, the pattern is more mixed, but the trend holds. High private healthcare costs drive up overall spending.
