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Patients owe 'millions'
31/03/2006 08:21 - (SA)
Nelspruit - Mpumalanga is on a drive to chase down hospital patients who have failed to settle their bills.
Finance MEC Mmathulare Coleman said this week that the provincial government's revenue would be significantly boosted if the hospitals implemented effective revenue-collection systems.
"We've urged the health department to ensure that each hospital (has the necessary computer technology) to ensure that patients are billed in time," Coleman said.
Mpumalanga health spokesperson Mpho Gabashane was unable to say how much money the patients owed the hospitals, but it is estimated that it amounts to millions of rands.
In neighbouring Limpopo, patients owe provincial hospitals about R146m.
The Limpopo health department has found that medical aid companies haven't settled their bills, and some patients lied about being poor so that they didn't have to pay the normal rates.
The department intends to hire debt collection companies to collect the outstanding money.
Limpopo legislature's Select Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has noted that debts from these patients rose from R83.6m in 2003 to R146m in 2004.
The health department believes that once all hospitals have chief executive officers in place, the problem of unpaid bills will be solved.
- African Eye
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