As medical bills climb faster than incomes, more Indian families are turning to community-funded healthcare, and ImpactGuru says it’s seeing the shift firsthand.
MUMBAI, India — A hospital stay in India costs more today than it did last year. Next year, it’ll still cost more. Medical inflation hit 12% in 2024, climbed toward 13% the year after, and some projections now put 2026 closer to 14%, over triple the country’s general inflation rate, according to healthcare data firm Milliman. Numbers like these don’t stay abstract for long. They show up as a bill someone can’t quite cover.
ImpactGuru has been watching that bill get harder to cover for a decade now. What’s changed recently, according to the company, isn’t just how many people are fundraising; it’s when. Families increasingly start a campaign the same week as a diagnosis, not after they’ve already exhausted savings, sold something, or borrowed from relatives.
Government data backs up why. A 2025 national survey put the average rural hospitalisation bill at roughly ₹31,500, with families covering nearly 95% of it themselves. City hospitals ran closer to ₹47,000, with 83% paid straight out of pocket. Insurance has expanded over the past decade, and out-of-pocket spending has dropped as a share of total health costs. Even so, it still accounts for nearly 40% of healthcare spending. For many families, that continues to mean significant financial pressure when a medical emergency strikes.
“Most Indians are one hospital bill away from financial devastation,” said Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of ImpactGuru. “Over 500 million people in India’s middle class carry no health insurance at all. Medical crowdfunding exists to close that gap. We want it to be something families can lean on, and not just a last resort.”
The trend isn’t unique to India. The global medical crowdfunding market was worth roughly $8 billion in 2025 and is on track to grow by nearly 19% annually over the next decade. India’s broader crowdfunding sector, spanning medical, personal, and cause-based fundraising, is expected to grow around 15% annually through 2031. ImpactGuru says its own campaign activity has followed that same curve, with increasing participation from smaller towns where crowdfunding was once far less familiar.
Some of that spread comes down to logistics most people never see. Campaigns run in multiple Indian languages now. Support is available for campaigners who’ve never fundraised before and don’t know where to start. The company also works directly with hospitals so funds can move quickly once a campaign goes live, something that becomes even more important when treatment timelines are tight.
As healthcare costs continue to rise, ImpactGuru believes medical crowdfunding will become an increasingly important part of how families finance treatment. The company sees crowdfunding evolving alongside insurance and personal savings, not as a replacement for either, but as another practical way to bridge funding gaps during medical emergencies.
About ImpactGuru
ImpactGuru is India’s leading medical crowdfunding platform, connecting patients and their families with a nationwide community of donors to fund treatment for cancer, transplants, accidents, and other critical medical needs. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Mumbai, the platform has helped raise funds for tens of thousands of patients across the country.
