Devi Prasad Shetty: Health

Devi Prasad Shetty is redefining healthcare services in India. He has pioneered the concept of low-cost cardiac care wherein an open-heart surgery can be performed at as low as Rs 75,000 – nearly one-fourth the cost of doing so in a corporate hospital. It is no magic or miracle but just innovation.

Shetty, a decade ago, convinced the Karnataka Government to launch a microhealth insurance called Yeshaswini and convinced 1.7 million farmers to contribute Rs 5 per month and the state government became a reinsurer by paying Rs 2.5 only. With that scheme Shetty networked with 400 hospitals across the state where these farmers could get a heart or brain operation. The number today has swelled to 4 million thus further reducing the cost of surgeries. Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bangalore runs one-of-its-kind pediatric cardiac unit – also the largest – with capacity to perform over 60 cardiac surgeries in a day. With a target to serve towns with population below one million, Shetty is now building 100 low-cost hospitals. The first of these has been built in Mysore.