<div>At last, the public-private partnership (PPP) model in healthcare is poised to make a stride in the country after many years of pilot schemes and lack of interest among private sector to join hands with the Government in large-scale healthcare delivery. <br /><br />The London headquartered $7 billion Enso Group, along with Wipro GE Healthcare, has tied up with the state governments of Maharashtra and Punjab to upgrade diagnostic facilities in 43 civil hospitals — 22 in Maharashtra and 21 in Punjab. An investment of Rs 150 crore from Enso will be one of the largest PPP investments so far in upgrading public diagnostic facilities in India — offering quality diagnostic options at very cheap rates and covering over 3 crore people in these two states.<br /><br />Though pilot projects run in states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat have been successful; scaling them up projects has been an issue due to unviable business models. In India, the public sector accounts for only around 20 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure, representing around 1 per cent of the GDP — among the lowest in the world, notes a KPMG-CII study on the 'Emerging Role of PPP in Indian Healthcare Sector'. In the past decade, though various diagnostic chains offering high quality services have mushroomed, they cater to barely 5-10 per cent of the population.<br /><br />Enso and Wipro GE Healthcare will install CT scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, radiography systems, colour Doppler’s and analog x-ray units within a year in hospitals in Maharashtra. Enso is in talks with vendors for supply to M hospitals in Punjab. It is estimated that these hospitals currently refer over a lakh CT scans, 50,000 MRIs, 3 lakh color Doppler studies, 900,000 x-rays and 40,000 mammography exams in a year, helping private diagnostic centres reap huge money. Ensocare — the healthcare venture of the Enso Group, hopes to get back its investment within four years, even after providing services at a discount.<br /><br />Ensocare believes volumes will drive business, at about 300 patients per day for each centre.<br /><br />Dr. Akil Khan, vice chairman, Ensocare says "We plan to offer services at the rates offered under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), almost 80 per cent less than what the private facilities charge. The patients will also get cover under the Government sponsored insurance scheme Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana".<br /><br />Another novelty Ensocare plans is to get even the economically weaker sections of the society an insurance cover for their basic treatments. Vaibhav Maloo, Chairman, Ensocare says the company is in talks with Aetna International, an international healthcare insurance provider, to offer a Rs 50,000 a year insurance cover for a whole family for a year at a premium of Rs 5000, even for out-patient treatments. Currently health insurance cover is available for just 10 per cent of the population in the country.<br /><br />Apart from the PPP plans, Ensocare is also planning another $150 million investment in 300 odd Ensocare brand private clinics in Tier-1 and Toer-2 cities, under its Ensocare brand. </div>
