After the pandemic receded, India stood at a critical inflection point in healthcare. Facility modernisation, specialisation expansion and systemic upgradation were the need of the hour. In 2022-24, about $30 bn was invested by PE firms in the sector, which now own more than 50% of India's top hospitals. This is not anomalous, as the model has been successful abroad. In the US, for instance, some 488 hospitals are owned by PE firms, representing 8.5% of private hospitals.
But with capital come costs: elevated hospital expenditure, insurance premium inflation and accessibility challenges for many patients. And without sufficient government subsidies, alternative and quality public facilities, and an active litigious framework, akin to that in the US, which can keep predatory pricing in check while exacting draconian penalties for misdiagnoses, negligence, malpractice and overselling, these issues become structural rather than incidental.
