Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Max Healthcare Says Rising Costs Complicate Hospital Price Regulation
Max Healthcare is building many more hospital beds.
It plans to add 2,800 beds by FY29.
A new tower in Saket has increased one hospital’s capacity to about 1,200 beds.
Abhay Soi says hospitals need enough profits to pay for expensive land, buildings, and equipment.
He says making prices too low could discourage companies from building new hospitals.
He also says better treatments and technology, rather than price increases, drive most revenue growth per occupied bed.
Max says its Saket beds are filling quickly.
Soi supports a nationwide system to help process insurance claims.
However, he does not support making every hospital charge the same rates because hospitals have different costs.
Max Healthcare is adding 2,800 beds organically between FY27 and FY29.
A new 400-bed Saket tower brings Max’s facility capacity to about 1,200 beds.
Abhay Soi says large listed hospitals typically earn median net profits of 8-9%.
Soi says tariff hikes contribute 2.5-3% of annual ARPOB growth, with clinical advances driving the rest.
He supports a nationwide claims exchange but says standardised hospital rates could undermine new investments.
- Who
- Max Healthcare and its chairman and managing director, Abhay Soi.
- What
- Max Healthcare is expanding its hospital network while opposing broad price caps and standardised hospital rates.
- When
- The new Saket tower opened in May; the remaining beds are expected to open over the next 1-2 months, while 2,800 beds are planned between FY27 and FY29.
- Where
- Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, Delhi, and Max Healthcare’s wider network.
- Why
- Soi says hospital expansion requires returns that reflect current land, construction, technology, and operating costs.
Regulation Advocates
Hospital Operators
Price and margin controls
Regulation Advocates
Advocates are calling for healthcare price regulation and margin caps to improve affordability.
Hospital Operators
Abhay Soi says reducing prices or margins could push hospitals toward losses and slow investment in new beds.
Mandatory bed allocation
Regulation Advocates
Proposals include requiring hospitals to allocate beds under specified conditions.
Hospital Operators
Soi argues that hospitals need viable economics and returns to expand capacity and maintain services.
Standardised hospital rates
Regulation Advocates
Insurance reform proposals include standardised rates nationwide.
Hospital Operators
Soi says rates are difficult to standardise because hospitals have different land and construction costs, and uniform rates could make new facilities uneconomic.
- New Saket capacity
- A 400-bed tower has taken the facility’s total capacity to about 1,200 beds.
- Saket occupancy
- More than 200 beds have opened and occupancy is already above 80%.
- Planned expansion
- Max Healthcare plans to add 2,800 beds between FY27 and FY29, all organically.
- Expansion investment
- The company is investing around Rs 6,000 crore to reach 10,000 beds.
- Hospital profitability
- Soi says the median net profit of large listed hospital players is around 8-9%.
- ARPOB growth
- Tariff hikes account for about 2.5-3% of annual average revenue per occupied bed growth.
- Patient reach
- Max Healthcare treated more than 4 million patients from over 800 cities and 180-plus countries in the last financial year.