'Medical aids bleed life from state health'

The Gauteng health department is drowning in debt owed largely by medical aid schemes, self-paying patients and other provinces.

Several government entities including the national departments of correctional services, defence and justice were listed among those owing the provincial department a staggering R2.7-billion.

Data from the end of last year show that by far the biggest chunk of the debt (R1178943000) is owed by the Road Accident Fund. Medical aid schemes owed R215.3-million to the provincial department.

Self-paying patients owe R693-million, down from R771-million in March last year.

The department has previously conceded that much of the debt was owed by patients from informal settlements, who could neither pay nor furnish public health facilities with correct physical addresses.

Prince Hamnca, the provincial health spokesman, said the department followed debt-management processes to recoup the costs.

"The department has appointed a company to collect outstanding debt from self-paying patients. The patients either pay upfront or, for those who do not have cash, an account is raised and sent [out]."

"In order to obtain verifiable information from patients who do not have required documentation, the department has outsourced to a service provider for patient details verification," he said.

The problem, however, is that provincial health departments - Gauteng included - are poor at billing individuals, even more so medical aid schemes and the Road Accident Fund.

In an effort to eliminate the burden of healthcare costs for low earners and the poor, the government has proposed the National Health Insurance to widen access to quality care.

The NHI aims to shift revenue-generation for healthcare from individual contributions to private medical aid schemes to a general tax.

Other entities that owe the provincial department include:

• North West (R408.7-million);
• Limpopo (R72.1-million);
• SA Police Service (R17.8-million);
• Workmen's Compensation (R37.1-million);
• The Department of Correctional Services (R36.3-million); and
• The Department of Justice (R11-million).

The DA said yesterday the Gauteng health department had paid R276-million in 110 legal claims over the past two years.

Most of these were for medical negligence.