Patients owe R426m
02/07/2007 21:24  - (SA)  

Shock results of hospital audit Patients owe 'millions' Patients bleed hospitals dry

Johannesburg - The Gauteng Department of Health believes that recovery of at least 40% of the R426m in outstanding patient fees is "doubtful".

The department said steps taken to recover the money included having a credit bureau verify patient details because some patients avoided giving the correct details to evade payment.

Department spokesperson Zanele Mngadi said they were also hand-delivering accounts to medical schemes where possible; were phoning debtors to remind them of the outstanding accounts; sending reminders to medical aids, and, as a final step, debts were handed over to the State Attorney for legal action.

Mngadi said the amount of R426m included outstanding fees from previous years.

"This figure is inclusive of all other previous years. About 40% of the outstanding amount is doubtful in terms of collectability," she said.

In reply to earlier questions from the Democratic Alliance, the department said that reasons for outstanding accounts included settlement delays by medical schemes; the lengthy legal processes required for claims against the Road Accident Fund and the lack of staff with revenue skills at hospitals.

The Johannesburg Hospital had the most outstanding accounts with nearly R158m owed.

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