It’s a simple equation. If the cardiac unit of the Goa Medical College has saved the government approximately Rs 60 crore in mediclaim reimbursement, it means private hospitals are poorer by the same amount. They are the biggest losers. A superspeciality hospital in South Goa has shut down its operation theaters and intensive care unit and another is facing a similar prospect. The time is not far when hospitals in the private sector, which based their revenue model on the government’s mediclaim scheme, will face a crunch as the GMC increases its capacity and the number of procedures. The private sector has itself to blame for this situation. Charges in the private sector are unregulated and each hospital fixes its own rate, very much like taxi drivers. There is no regulatory body to examine the quality of healthcare and fix rates. In most sectors, be it transport or mobile telephones, regulatory bodies exist
to protect the consumer. So it is heartening to see the public
sector give private hospitals a run for the the money. As some
hospitals have realised, it is difficult to compete with the GMC
where treatment is free. The only advantage that the private
sector had was efficiency and cleanliness. No one doubts that
the service provided by private hospitals is on a much higher
level, but this advantage is lost as cost of treatment goes up,
like in the case of cardiac care. Private hospitals have to remodel
their business strategies or go bust.
