Wall Street’s $10bn India hospital bet sparks a fight over bills (opens the source in a new tab)
- Blackstone, KKR, TPG, General Atlantic and others have put about $10 billion into Indian hospital chains in five years, per EY. PE-backed chains hold under 5% of beds but are strong in high-margin cardiac and cancer care.
- In August a parliamentary panel warned of an “unchecked influx of foreign capital” and suggested revisiting foreign-investment rules, examining price caps and creating a hospital regulator.
- Insurers say hospitals inflate bills and push costly procedures; hospitals blame late payments and low reimbursement. One Mumbai patient paid out of pocket when her insurer refused the robotic part of her surgery.
- $10bn
- PE in 5 years
- 1.3
- beds per 1,000 people
Why it matters Private money is building the beds India lacks, but patients and insurers are feeling the price.
Other side EQT’s Jean Eric Salata warns price regulation would deter investors, and Wharton’s Lawton Burns says it is unclear regulation can contain costs. Would caps mean fewer new hospitals?
Source:NDTV (free to read) ↗