West Bengal looks to private healthcare investment:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The West Bengal state government is urging the private sector to take on healthcare and its education to improve access to facilities for "those who can afford it". Dr Surya Kanta Mishra, state minister for health and family welfare, said that this would mean the government could focus on providing "preventive, primary and promotive" healthcare for the poor. Currently, the per capita out-of-pocket medical expenditure in India is double the per capita government spending. It is estimated that the required investment over the next 10 years would be in excess of Rs100,000 crores (US$2bn), reports The Hindu. Investors in the healthcare sector already include the Tata Group, BM Birla (Heart Research Institute) and the Apollo and Parkway Groups (Apollo Gleneagles Hospital).