PATNA, June 18 -- Over 60 private firms, including around 25 from outside Bihar, participated in the first stakeholders' consultative meeting on the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) model for government medical colleges and hospitals. The Bihar health department organised the meeting in Patna on Wednesday. The consultation, attended by Bihar chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit, was part of the state's plan to expand healthcare and medical education infrastructure through private participation. Representatives from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh joined firms from Bihar to discuss the proposed framework. Several participants raised concerns over key provisions of the PPP model. Private firms argued that the proposed 30-year concession period for brownfield projects was too short considering the scale of investment required and the time needed to achieve financial viability, officials said. Representatives of Sri Sathya Sai Annapurna Trust said philanthropic institutions operating on a no-profit-no-loss basis should not be expected to compete with commercial healthcare operators and sought a separate framework for such entities. Treatment and diagnostic charges also figured prominently in the discussions. While the government proposed that patients not covered under any health scheme should be treated at Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates, participants sought greater clarity on the provision's financial and operational implications. A representative of a local private hospital expressed reservations about partnering with the government, alleging a lack of transparency, delays in reimbursements and an unequal relationship between private healthcare providers and the state. He said low reimbursement rates were manageable, but delayed payments and administrative uncertainties remained major concerns. The meeting drew participation from several prominent institutions, including Sharad University, Torrent Group, Sri Sathya Sai Annapurna Trust, Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Gangajali Education Society, Fortview Capital and Himalaya Educational Trust. According to the government's presentation, Bihar faces a deficit of nearly 10,000 MBBS seats and government medical college hospitals record an average monthly OPD footfall of around four lakh patients and about 40,000 indoor admissions, underlining the need for additional healthcare capacity. Health Secretary Kumar Ravi described the consultation as productive. "This was the first consultative meeting we had with private firms. The meeting was very fruitful. The firms have given policy suggestions and discussed deliverables, bank loans, medical seats, facilitation, among other aspects. We had around 25 firms from outside the state, while many others were from Bihar," he said. Under the proposed PPP initiative, Bihar plans to establish 17 new medical college hospitals as greenfield projects and hand over the operation and management of 16 existing or upcoming institutions under the brownfield model to experienced private operators. As per the expression of interest (EoI), greenfield projects will be developed on government land leased for 60 years, while brownfield projects will be offered on a 30-year concession period. The state aims to assess investor interest, evaluate project viability, examine risk-sharing mechanisms and finalise an appropriate PPP framework, including the design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) model....