Insurance Against A Crisis

Kunti Morya, Embroidery Artisan at Arpan Cooperative

Among the less affluent in India, health insurance is only a recent phenomenon, and many still question its value. And yet, when low-income workers do need care, their options through the state hospitals are often woefully lacking. Five years ago, MarketPlace began offering artisans health insurance, paying 75 percent of the premium, with the cooperative paying 15 percent and the artisans the remaining 10 percent. After many meetings and discussions about the benefits, today the women value health insurance for both the financial and psychological security it provides.

Kunti Morya, who has worked as an embroidery artisan for thirty years, had never heard of health insurance until it was discussed at her cooperative in 2016. Since she signed up, she has benefitted from the policy on three occasions, including during one long hospitalization for a knee injury. And prior to her husband's death in 2019, she was able to get him proper care at a private hospital. "I am grateful that MarketPlace thought in advance of us needing medical help, because I don't know how I would have managed," she says. "There are so many issues in life that make it hard to save money. Insurance allows us to not use our savings for health, so this insurance is my true savings."