Insurance companies stand to gain up to 50 percent of the costs if a patient gets operated in India instead of GCC, says Aster DM Healthcare chairman Azad Moopen.

"It is the insurance companies who make the decision. To get patients from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, especially the UAE, we should be focusing on insurance companies rather than individuals," says Azad Moopen. 

Azad Moopen was speaking at a roundtable session on ‘Advantage Health Care-India 2023’ held on the sidelines of a G20 event in Gandhinagar. 

"The Central and state governments should focus on GCC as the main market. The flow right now is only from Oman and Iraq. Other countries lag because they do not know about Indian healthcare. There is a requirement to promote India properly,” Moopen added.

HCG Hospitals International Marketing vice-president Sanket Arora suggested a liaison between local insurance companies and insurance bodies in India to streamline the flow of medical tourists from the Gulf. 

"If we can have local insurance companies in these countries liaison with our insurance bodies such as IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) and have a formal kind of association, that would help us in streamlining and hedging the risks for the hospitals,” Arora said. 

KEF Holdings and Meitra Hospital chairman Faizal Kottikollon wanted India to attract high-end patients to the country. 

"Normally, tourism comes to India for its cost-effectiveness. That has to change. We need to attract high-paying patients to our country. We should also take it to the next level," Faizal said.