Affordplan targets Rs 1,000 crore in GTV by FY25, aims to bridge healthcare affordability gap in India

With over two decades of experience in the financial sector, Anand Nevatia, the Co-Founder of Affordplan, a futuristic fintech company, was a key member of the founding team at Trust Mutual Fund, where he managed all fixed-income schemes for Trust AMC. His extensive experience and financial acumen drive the finance and technology initiatives at Affordplan.

Anand's career includes roles such as Fund Manager at Trust Mutual Fund, Head of Debt PMS, and AVP in Debt Capital Markets at Trust. He also held positions at Jumbo Electronics and Trisys Communications Pvt Ltd. Based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Anand brings his deep expertise and insight to Affordplan, aiming to revolutionize healthcare finance. In an exclusive interview to Bizz Buzz, he explains their efforts to improve access to health care. The firm has set a target to cross Rs 1,000 crore in GTV by FY25.

In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Anand highlighted the evolving Indian healthcare sector, driven by the government's focus on infrastructure, medical education, and research. While he noted significant progress, he emphasized that challenges like accessibility, affordability, and uneven quality of care still persist, particularly in rural regions. Anand believes these gaps present opportunities for innovation in digital health and affordable healthcare models.

What key challenges in India’s healthcare system inspired you to create Affordplan, and how does it stand out as a solution for making healthcare more affordable?

India’s healthcare system faces significant challenges, particularly due to its fragmented nature and low insurance coverage, which leaves many people vulnerable to high medical expenses.With the majority of healthcare costs being paid out-of-pocket, affordability becomes a major issue for families. In fact, out-of-pocket expenditures make up around Click here to enter text.62.6 per cent of total health spending in India, a striking figure that often pushes families into financial hardship. This critical gap inspired us to create Affordplan, a solution aimed at bridging the affordability divide. Affordplan Swasth features cashbacks on spends, free medicine delivery, zero-interest loan options, and more - we help patients manage their expenses more effectively while ensuring hospitals can provide a more seamless experience. Our goal is to create a holistic approach that makes quality healthcare both accessible and affordable.

With Affordplan’s ambitious target to cross Rs 1,000 crore in GTV by FY25, what are the key drivers for your growth strategy?

To reach a Gross Transaction Value of more than Rs 1,000 crore by FY25, Affordplan Swasth is expanding its hospital network across big, medium, and small-sized hospitals to drive higher patient-base coverage as well as transaction volumes. We are also working closely with insurance companies and wellness brands to enable specialized insurance plans, low-interest medical loans, and savings on wellness products, making their platform more appealing to a diverse audience. We are also further enhancing our product portfolio and learning about the major demographics, improving user experience and financial processing to ensure deeper market penetration. Building strong partnerships with important industry players, along with investing in marketing and awareness campaigns, will be key to helping more people understand the benefits of our platform. By increasing visibility and reaching a wider audience, these efforts will not only increase profitability but also strengthen our position as a leader in the healthcare fintech industry.

Can you explain how Affordplan’s business model is, and what makes it sustainable in the long run?

Affordplan is a fintech services organization that operates on a B2B2C model. We do healthcare-specific embedded finance and focus on medical payments in the country. We work with hospital partners to strengthen patient connections, increase retention, and create loyalty. For patients, Affordplan Swasth™ offers a suite of services to manage their medical expenses such

as online payments, offers from wellness brands, medical loans, micro-insurance, etc improving the patient’s experience at the hospital as well as outside by giving at-home medicine delivery and lab sample pick-up services. Patients can simply scan & pay for purchases within hospitals to earn instant cashback credits and access various wellness offers on the platform.

What makes it sustainable is the fact that Affordplan solves an identified problem for the patient group at their moment of need and intent. There is organic acquisition of customers because everyone wants to be able to save on their spends!

From your perspective, what are the most significant shifts happening in healthcare financing today, and how is Affordplan adapting to or driving these changes?

The healthcare financing landscape is seeing the most radical changes primarily through the impact of technology, the consumers' increasing demand for transparency, rising inflation, and demands for affordability. Among the most salient trends is an emphasis on developing preventive care and wellness programs that motivate people to invest in their health proactively rather than reactively. This shift requires new solutions that can accommodate preventive services and out-of-pocket expense management. With a heightened focus on digital health solutions and telemedicine, which really took off during the pandemic times, consumers now expect fairly seamless, tech-enabled experiences in managing their healthcare finances.

Affordplan is ahead of the curve in this change and realigns our products to better fit these trends. We provide comprehensive solutions that facilitate not only efficient short-term healthcare payments but also help patients save for future large medical expenses through Swasth IPD. Our vision is to help patients gain control over their health spending and enable providers to develop a more cost-effective financial climate.

Do you see opportunities for Affordplan to work within a public-private partnership (PPP) framework to improve healthcare accessibility?

Yes, we see significant opportunities for Affordplan to work within a public-private partnership framework to improve healthcare accessibility. By leveraging our inclusive approach to healthcare, we can collaborate with both public and private healthcare entities to enhance healthcare accessibility and affordability. Our goal is to be a major player in helping hospitals work with us to deliver care at prices that are lower than inflation. Through these partnerships, we aim to expand our presence and become a major player in improving healthcare journeys and reducing costs across multiple facets within the next few years.

What is the percentage of people going for care under various insurance policies and what steps do you suggest to increase medical insurance among the people?

According to IRDAI report, the insurance penetration in India is 4 per cent of its GDP, which is much lower than global average of 6.8 per cent. To increase medical insurance adoption, awareness campaigns should highlight its benefits, focusing on reducing financial stress during medical emergencies. Several interventions aimed at reducing the price or increasing the salience of benefits can promote health insurance enrollment. Simplifying policies and insurance blueprint will encourage more people to enroll, while offering affordable premiums customized to various income groups ensures broader accessibility. The value of health insurance will be difficult to evaluate initially, so the experience of having coverage should be given to individuals as that determines subsequent enrollment decisions. The credibility or trustworthiness of institutions also affects individual choices. Healthcare providers should partner with insurers to offer cost-effective packages, and digital platforms can simplify policy comparison, purchase, and renewal for consumers.

At Affordplan, we have taken major steps to address affordability by offering complimentary insurance bundled with the Swasth platform. This allows people to manage their healthcare costs without the burden of interest, making coverage more accessible.

Being a part of the healthcare sector, how do you see the potential of alternative medicines?

The alternative medicine sector, including AYUSH and Unani in India, has seen significant growth, contributing notably to revenue and employment. According to IBEF reports, this expansion is driven by rising consumer interest in traditional medicine, government support, and a growing export market. Additionally, India’s rich heritage in herbal medicine has also fueled global market expansion.