Blackstone has reportedly decided to buy a majority stake in Hyderabad's CARE Hospitals. Blackstone is a private equity firm based in the US. "The company will commit $1 billion in the hospital chain in India and hold over 75% in Care Hospitals," Reuters has quoted a source as saying.
Furthermore, it is reported that Blackstone acquired a controlling stake in both CARE and the Kerala-based Kims Health, both of which combined will have more than 4000 beds and will be present in 23 facilities across 11 cities in India, reported CNBC.
As per some experts and doctors in India, we are in for an era of expensive healthcare. "Private Healthcare is now a 'Big Boys' game. Multi-million and billion dollar acquisitions by some of the world's largest private equity companies who run the operations. The next 10 years will be all about the tug of war between insurance and PE-owned large hospital chains in India," writes Dr. Sumeet Shah.
A system dominated by private equity and insurance is a deadly combination for poor and middle-class people, suggests Dr. Karthik Balachandran.
In the coming years, government hospitals must be revived and empowered in a big way so that poor people are not left in the lurch.
