By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India needs to curtail excessive medical care that leads to patient overspending as more people get health insurance, the World Bank said on Thursday, adding voice to a growing chorus against overtreatment in the country. Practices such as "defensive medicine" and aggressive marketing by hospitals, which cost the United States an estimated $250 billion to $300 billion annually, are emerging as a serious problem in India, the Washington-based institution warned. The comments come as India's new government has vowed to crack down on unethical practices that plague India's $74 billion healthcare industry, where doctors say getting kickbacks for referring patients or passing inflated hospital bills to insurers is widespread. The World Bank warned that as more people are able to afford healthcare and the government ramps up insurance coverage, the risk of excessive care may increase, in notes released from an April meeting with policymakers and insurers.
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