Indo-US health trade: Opportunities and implications

Abstract

The United States faces a number of challenges in the health sector. Rising healthcare costs have been a historical problem in the United States. In addition to the escalating costs, the shortage of medical professionals is also an issue. The recent Health Reform Bill which proposes to expand health insurance coverage would add additional pressures on expenditure since demand for medical services is expected to increase without any significant change in supply. With increasing globalization of the health sector, India has tremendous potential to emerge as a preferred nation for health trade. It can leverage its state of the art private hospitals and diagnostic facilities and offer affordable health treatment solutions to address the escalating demand and increasing healthcare costs of the western world. The objective of the project is to explore the opportunities for trade in health services between the United States and India. The methodology would be based on secondary literature and analysis of data on healthcare in both countries. Primary research by means of telephonic and/or personal interviews will also be conducted. The first section of the project focuses on building a case for the proposed trade. By studying the healthcare markets in US and India, we identify what are the needs of the US market and whether India can address these requirements. Having established a basis for health trade between India and US, we move on to explore four segments through which this trade can be facilitated: Medical Value Travel, Teleradiology, Clinical Trials and Medical Transcription. For each of the four services, we would study the available opportunities and potential for India as a provider to the US. We would also analyze the possible challenges underlying this particular mode of trade. Finally, recommendations would be made on how to address the issues identified in each of the four modes and further develop trade in health services between these two countries. By addressing some of the underlying challenges based on the given recommendations, the project tries to highlight how trade in health services is in the interest of both India and the US.