Abstract
The objective of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of the health financing systems in India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) across three major domains: resource mobilisation, pooling of resources and purchase of health services. This is an observational study using secondary data collected from international organisations, ministries of health and other government and non-government agencies in India and KSA. The study revealed that India has a very low expenditure on healthcare and markedly lower health outcomes compared to KSA. Although India’s health financing system has undergone notable changes in the last two decades, it is lagging behind in many health financing system parameters. However, the share of government expenditure on current health expenditure has been increasing steadily with higher allocations to primary and secondary care. By expanding health insurance coverage and sustainable public health funding, it is likely that India will make significant progress towards achieving UHC.