BENGALURU, Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S-based healthcare IT

firm Availity will more than triple staff at its India tech

centre by end-2026, a senior official told Reuters, as it aims

to address cost pressures in the U.S. healthcare system and

expand its tech capabilities in India.

The company will widen its Bengaluru capability centre,

targeting headcount growth to 400 from 250 by end-2025, and to

800 by the end of 2026, Chief Operating Officer Sean Keneally

said.

Availity, the Novo Holdings-backed healthcare information

network, connects payers, insurers, and hospitals. Novo Holdings

is the controlling shareholder of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk

.

Availity's India centre currently handles product

engineering, infrastructure, and some back-office functions, and

will expand into technology, product, operations, and corporate

roles, Keneally said.

Global capability centers (GCCs) in India, once seen as

low-cost outsourcing hubs, now handle operations, finance,

research and development for their parent corporations.

Availity's India expansion comes amid shifting reimbursement

and coverage models in the U.S. healthcare system. The company

views the move as timely, as U.S. payers face financial pressure

from reimbursement cuts and coverage reductions.

Keneally said lower Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement

rates have made care "almost unaffordable" for healthcare

providers, leaving its customers with limited budgets for

innovation.

"We're very opportunistic at this point in time, helping

them get through the financial troubles that they're going

through," he said, adding that customers are seeking technology

solutions to address their problems.

Keneally said that several of Availity's major customers

also operate GCCs in India, and its India centre will

collaborate directly with those local teams.