PHA-Exchange> Private wings in public hospitals?

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from Chan Chee Khoon <ckchan at usm.my> Malaysia
(edited)              
             Private Wings in Government Hospitals?     
 
Some years back, as part of the the government's corporatisation policy,
government hospitals were directed to increase the rate of their cost
recovery (at the time, patient charges at government hospitals
contributed in toto about 5-10% of the hospitals' actual operational
costs, i.e. government medical services were being subsidised to the
extent of 90-95%).  

In preparation for corporatisation, government hospitals were instructed
to increase their cost recovery, so that the government could reduce its
health outlays which would be preferentially allocated to the low income,
while "those who could afford to pay more should become less dependent on
government subsidies", or better yet, look to the private sector for their
healthcare needs.  (This is the World Bank's favored "targeted approach" 
for a rump public sector in healthcare, as privatisation proceeds to
create markets for healthcare entrepreneurs, and more generally, a
generic template for the privatisation of social services).
 
It is clear that our under-financed government healthcare will become even
less available to the poor when private wings are set up in government 
hospitals as human and material resources are re-allocated to serve the 
dictates of the healthcare market rather than the needs of the poor.
 
Any expectations that private wings will generate revenue for government
hospitals for cross subsidies to poorer patients, have been discredited. 

It is furthermore predictable that private wings will soon be encouraged
to service the regional 'health tourism' market as well (tourists coming to 
Malaysia for cheap treatment).  

The Citizens' Health Initiative has repeatedly voiced its concern over
such developments.  We are not against foreign nationals benefiting from
our national healthcare capabilities, indeed we can take pride in this,
but we are much concerned when more and more of our local health resources
are diverted to serving regional healthcare priorities as
dictated by economic (market) demand, rather than on the basis of need.
 
The proposal to introduce private wings in government hospitals is
an unworthy idea which should be definitively scrapped.
 
Dr Chan Chee Khoon
Co-ordinator
Citizens' Health Initiative
May 7, 2004
Penang, Malaysia


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