Note to Editors: Please find attached a soundbite in English by Dr Jack Bloom MPL here.
The Gauteng Health Department is owed an astounding R4.57 billion in patient fees, of which R1.8 billion is from other government departments and agencies.
This was revealed in a presentation by the Department last week at a meeting of the Gauteng Legislature Health Oversight Committee.
Self-paying patients owe R2.63 billion, the vast majority from foreign patients who owe R2.42 billion compared to R388 million owed by local patients.
It is scandalous that government departments and agencies are not paying up. The amounts owed include the following:
• Road Accident Fund: R1.60 billion
• Department of Justice: R89 million
• Department of Correctional Services: R49.9 million
• South African Police Service: R34.5 million
• Compensation Fund: R31.6 million
• North West Province: R19.3 million
The Department is so inept at collecting money that R84 million is owed from private medical aids.
Most of the total debt (R3.7 billion) is older than six months, which increases the difficulty of collection.
Meanwhile, the department does not have sufficient funds to fill critical staff vacancies, fix broken machines, and pay suppliers on time.
The vexing problem of foreign patient debt should push national government to make a binding arrangement with neighbouring countries to pay the hospital bills of their citizens. This needs a proper hospital billing system, but this is often not the case in Gauteng hospitals that fail to classify patients correctly and issue invoices late or not at all.
The DA in Gauteng urges the Department to fix its billing systems and be more aggressive in getting other government entities to pay their bills.
A DA administration would ensure that all money owed is efficiently collected and used to improve patient care.