Private medical services are flourishing in Russia as the emerging middle class is willing to pay for better service, shorter waiting times and the peace of mind that they are providing the best possible care, particularly for their younger family members when they need it.
Russian citizens enjoy free universal medical care under the constitution, but as anyone who has had contact with the Russian medical system knows, that is only an ideal. While the standard of care is actually not that bad compared with what is experienced in many other emerging markets, the system is riven by shortages of beds, equipment and medicines.
Corruption is rife as doctors are on the take to move people up the queue or get access to a complex treatment and patients are commonly asked to pay for their own medication, when it should be free.
The expansion of private medical services in Russia began in two areas — private hospitals catering to the well-off and expats, with the European Medical Centre being the pioneer and familiar to any expat living in Moscow, and pre-natal and maternity as everyone is willing to pay a little extra for the best when it comes to a baby.
The leader in maternity care is the MD Medical Group (MDMG). It has been building hospitals all over the country to cater for the high demand for quality medical care during childbirth. Founded by Mark Kurtser, once Moscow's chief gynaecologist, in 2003, it opened its flagship $150 million private maternity hospital in Moscow in 2006, the first of its kind in Russia.
The company grew quickly and launched an international public offering (IPO) in 2012, raising $133 million to fund further expansion. It has been relatively unaffected by the slowing economy or U.S. sanctions on Russia since 2014.
“Sex was not sanctioned!” Kurtser told bne IntelliNews in an exclusive interview during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), and the company has been a big beneficiary of the Kremlin’s highly successful pro-children policies.
