u/SJKRICK

Kerala's always been the state people point to for proof that healthcare doesn't have to be a nightmare here. Strong PHCs, decent public hospitals, not fully dependent on insurance. But quietly, PE money has poured close to Rs 20,000 crore into Kerala's hospitals in just the last five years. Blackstone owns a big chunk of KIMS and CARE Hospitals, and that's now merged with Aster DM too. KKR took a controlling stake in Baby Memorial Hospital, which then went and bought up a 91 year old family run hospital in Idukki (Chazhikattu) and rebranded it. Keralites already spend three times the national average on healthcare out of pocket, something like Rs 8,388 a year per household versus Rs 2,767 nationally (source https://nhsrcindia.org/sites/default/files/2026-05/NHA%202022-23%20Report.pdf) . Total out of pocket spend in the state now crosses the entire health budget. And the law meant to keep hospitals in check, the Clinical Establishments Act from 2018, sat unenforced for 7 years because hospital associations kept fighting it in court. Only started getting enforced after the Kerala HC ruling last year, and even now the hospital association is in the Supreme Court saying the fee transparency rules are too vague to follow. So capital moved in fast, oversight barely moved at all. Sharing two good reads on this if anyone wants to go deeper: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/the-surging-cost-of-health-care-in-kerala/article70784005.ece https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/who-owns-your-hospitals-private-equitys-growing-grip-on-keralas-healthcare Anyone here been to KIMS, Aster, or BMH recently and noticed bills or care changing?