Iran conflict impacts India's healthcare costs
The ongoing conflict in Iran is starting to hit India's health care costs.
Since India imports a lot of medical supplies, like plastics for syringes and key ingredients for medicines, shipping delays and higher freight charges are pushing up prices for basics such as gloves and syringes.
Medical tourism also affected
Right now, hospitals have enough stock, so prices haven't shot up just yet. But as Rohan Palshetkar warns, if the disruption continues, patient bills could rise.
Industry experts say prices for some materials are already up by 50%, affecting everything from regular medications to nutritional supplements.
For now, stocks of essential medicines are stable, but if shortages drag on, even common drugs like acetaminophen could get pricier.
Medical tourism is also taking a hit as international patients delay trips due to the uncertainty.