Gov’t owes private hospitals over P1.5bn
Spira Tlhankane | Monday February 17, 2025 12:55
Responding to the Budget Speech this week, Mmolotsi said the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) found the government in huge debt and owing a lot of companies. “The Ministry of Health owes private hospitals over P1.5 billion. It is now our responsibility to make sure that these hospitals do not close shop and that Batswana continue being referred to the private hospitals,” Mmolotsi told Parliament. He said the huge debt runs the risk of closing down some of the hospitals and therefore, the government has to source the money from somewhere and pay the debt. “When we took over government, we found a lot of problems, the main one being that the coffers were empty. The government was broke, there was no cash flow, and it was embarrassing. There has never been a time when the government has been penniless like this in the history of this country. Batswana and the BCP should know that we are struggling because the old regime overspent money and left empty coffers,” he said. He indicated that had they not got SACU receipts in December, they wouldn’t have paid public servants.
Last month, the Minister of Health Dr Stephen Modise acknowledged the crucial role that private health facilities play in saving the lives of Batswana. During a meet-and-greet session with representatives from various private health facilities, Modise emphasised that the new government is committed to achieving Universal Health Coverage for all residents of Botswana. He noted that this goal can only be realised if both the private and public health sectors collaborate effectively to provide quality and accessible health services to the population. The minister assured the representatives from the health facilities that the ministry is open to their suggestions on improving collaboration for the benefit of all Batswana. Representatives from major private hospitals, including Gaborone Private Hospital, Sidilega Private Hospital, Bokamoso Private Hospital, Francistown Academic Hospital, and Riverside Hospital, expressed their concerns to the minister. While they appreciate the ministry's referrals of patients to their facilities, they are dissatisfied with the delays in payments, which are pushing some of them to the brink of bankruptcy. Some representatives reported that they are on the verge of closing down due to difficulties in paying their staff and suppliers or purchasing essential medical supplies, stemming from the significant debts owed to them by the ministry.
They urged the government to prioritise health funding and called for greater transparency in the distribution of referral work from the government to private health facilities. Explaining why they seek services from private health institutions, the government in the past pointed out that the ministry refers patients who would have been assessed by doctors in public health facilities and deemed to require hospital admission and treatment. It was indicated that this was usually done when the expertise required was not readily available within government facilities. Private facilities offering medical services usually apply for a permit to offer such services. They would then be inspected, and a permit is given if they satisfy the requirements. The next stage would be to negotiate tariffs if the services the government requires are offered by the facility.
Former Health Minister, Edwin Dikoloti, told parliament in 2022 that the ministry refers patients to a particular private health facility because there would be a specialist who is known to possess the required skill to manage a particular patient and can offer the service within a reasonable time. Dikoloti indicated then that patients are referred to private health facilities for services that are not available at government hospitals. He said the choice of which hospital the patient is sent to, depends on the availability of services required because some services like radiation and oncology are available at certain hospitals only. He clarified that the ministry did not allocate a budget to any private hospital rather it pays for the services rendered by each facility. The Ministry of Health has been having a relationship with the local private hospitals for a long period as these hospitals started operating at different times. The latest addition was Sidilega Private Hospital in 2019 and the Francistown Academic Hospital also in 2020. Before the current debt accumulated, the Health ministry had been enjoying a cordial relationship with the private hospitals as its stakeholders.