New Delhi, Sep 14 - Admitting that the government expenditure on healthcare has been less than desired, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Monday said underfunding by the public sector over the years has made it expensive and less accessible.

'Years of prolonged underfunding of the public health system and dependence on the private sector has pushed the cost of healthcare and also affected access,' Azad said while addressing a conference organised by the industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here.

'The issues of inaccessibility, inadequate infrastructure and need for far more human resource for health in the rural areas, however, remain huge challenges. It is this area that the private sector can play a crucial role in augmenting and supplementing the efforts of the government,' he added.

To buttress his argument, the minister said the National Sample Survey data has revealed that the annual hospitalisation cost by a person is much more in private hospitals than in government hospitals.

'In rural areas the (average) hospitalisation cost is Rs.7,408, which is higher than the hospitalisation cost in government hospitals (which is Rs.3,238). In urban areas it is Rs.11,553 in private hospital and Rs.3,877 in government hospitals as hospitalisation cost,' the minister said.

Azad said that between 1986 and 1996, the number of people who did not seek health care due to poverty increased from 15 to 24 percent in rural areas and from 10 to 21 percent in the urban areas.

The minister said his government was trying to increase the health care expenditure.

'We have increased the health care expenditure to 1.