With a sticker price of up to $1.6 million, MRI machines were not affordable across much of the developing world in 2007. After all, household incomes are considerably lower than in developed countries, and in India, for example, there is no formal health insurance system to compensate providers for MRI exams. Indian physicians charge about $150 for an MRI procedure, compared to $1,000 and up in the United States.
Yet, the Indian market (and others throughout the developing world) is enormous -- and the demand is real. But a scaled-down, low-quality MRI unit was out of the question for GE Healthcare. For one thing, Indian physicians know the state of the art of western technology. "They attend conferences here, they have family here," says Jim Davis, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare's Magnetic Resonance business, who is based in the United States. "Some of them trained here." Besides, he says, "We are on a mission to provide quality care in all markets. A human being is a human being. We don't want to discriminate. We want to bring the same diagnostic tools to India as the U.S."
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