Mumbai based healthcare services startup - Ekohealth is planning to raise funds for it's expansion plans. It intends to use the funds for hiring, marketing, developing mobile and web applications, content development and acquisition of databases to reach out to target audience.

Ekohealth, founded by Akash Rajpal, provides annual memberships to uninsured and insurance ineligible patients like diabetics and senior citizens helping them get discounts on their unavoidable medical expenses.

It has tied up with numerous branded/unbranded medical OPD & IPD centers where Ekohealth members get cash discounts upto 50%. The membership can be availed online too (E-sale to be launched by March 2012, under development) where the member pays online, fills relevant details and has a E membership card ready to print and use. It charges R1000 as membership fees for the entire family of four for one year.

Another operator in this space includes New Delhi based Indian Health Organisation Pvt Ltd. Indian Health Organisation provides health card for an annual fee that offers card holders diagnostic tests and medical consultations at discounted rates. The card can also be used at a network of doctors, dentists and pharmacies for further discounts.

There are 2,500 doctors, 800 pharmacies, 300 laboratories and 500 dentists in the IHO network. It has tie-ups with HSBC Bank, Bila Sun Life Insurance, Aditya Birla Money Mart, Reliance Capital and Unicon Securities, among others to offer IHO cards. IHO's clients list includes companies like RBS (the erstwhile ABN AMRO Bank) and Spicejet.