BRIC countries have a strong potential for investments and development of healthcare due to possessing lucrative economies, large populations, while at the same time having inefficient healthcare systems that leave many potential customers yearning for paid quality healthcare. However, different BRIC countries have different healthcare structure with market potential differing because of it. The purpose of this section is to analyze every major country of the BRIC block, which is Brazil, Russia, India, and China, to highlight and compare their healthcare market potential with one another.
Brazil
Brazil’s healthcare structure is an amalgamation of public healthcare with a strong private sector. The organizational model is similar to that of the UK, only with a stronger private sector because the government sector is always underfunded. As a result, a balance between the two systems exist. As it stands, government expenditures represent almost half of entire healthcare financing, with 47% being covered by the government and 53% left to various private healthcare ventures (Jacovljevic, 2014). For United Healthcare, this presents certain opportunities. Opening a venture in Brazil through FDI or the purchase of an existing company. However, establishing oneself on the market would be hard due to high competition. Overall, this market has medium potential due to its ease of penetration being offset by the overrepresented private sector.
Russia
Russia is a country with strong traditions of universal healthcare. Russia was one of the first countries to declare healthcare an inalienable right of every citizen. At the same time, corruption and high levels of inefficiency coupled with an outdated hospital system mean that there is plenty of room for improvement, especially if the private sector bothers investing in new projects (Rodwin, 2015). Currently, Russia experiences an overabundance of hospitals and a severe lack of primary healthcare facilities, which is something that United Healthcare can capitalize on. Russia has some of the best scores in Infancy Mortality Rates, pregnant women care, TB treatment, and cancer treatment among other members of BRIC countries (Rodwin, 2015). However, its overall scores remain relatively low when compared to the EU or the USA, which means that United Healthcare can promote its expertise to gain market share. However, high levels of bureaucracy and corruption would make it difficult to open a new venture, so it is recommended to purchase an existing company instead.
India
India has massive growth potential as a healthcare market due to its large population and healthcare inadequacies that it is currently facing. According to recent surveys, over 58% of total healthcare spending comes from outpatient expenditures (Rodwin, 2015). At the same time, the private healthcare sector is underrepresented, while government-funded medicine suffers from a lack of funding and quality specialists. In short, India has an extremely large population and not enough quality healthcare facilities to make up for it. The market potential is estimated as medium-high. While it would be relatively easy to establish a foothold in the Indian market, the lack of overall medical infrastructure could pose limitations on the company expansion.
China
China, like India, has one of the largest populations in the world. With over one billion citizens, it presents a massive opportunity for foreign healthcare providers. At the same time, Chinese healthcare expenditures remain relatively low, in GDP percentage. As it stands, Chinese healthcare expenditures separate into 30% in government spending, 26% for insurance payments, and 34% for out-of-pocket consumer payments (Rodwin, 2015). While government policies have succeeded in ensuring that 95% of the population get minimum basic care, healthcare quality varies greatly between cities and villages, which leaves room for United Healthcare to claim market share. Nevertheless, the massive potential of the Chinese healthcare market is offset by its restrictive policies towards foreign investment. As it stands, foreign companies are not an integral part of the Chinese healthcare system. However, the Chinese government is working towards liberalizing its healthcare market, and some hospital projects allow raising to 20% of its capital from private equity markets (Thakkar, 2012).
References
Jacovljevic, M. B. (2014). The key role of the leading emerging BRIC markets in the future of global health care. Serbian Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research, 15(3), 139-143.
Rodwin, V. G. (2015). Health and healthcare in BRIC nations. Web.
Thakkar, D. (2012). Emerging nations’ healthcare coverage. Journal for Global Business and Community, 3(1), 1-18.