The original article can be found in: Antigua Observer By Kyle Christian
ST JOHN’S, Antigua- Minister of Finance Harold Lovell said there will be no automatic renewal when the contract of the company that manages Mount St John’s Medical Centre (MSJMC) expires next year, as government struggles to provide quality health care at an affordable price.
Lovell was responding to comments by the former health minister of St Lucia, Dr Keith Mondesir, who said the MSJMC management arrangement was too expensive and suggested that alternative models be sought.
“There certainly is another model which is when the contract for the current provider expires the government obviously will be faced with a choice and, at that time, we will have to review the pros and cons of continuing this arrangement,” Lovell said.
In February 2009, the American Hospital Management Company (AHMC) was given a five-year contract for the management of MSJMC.
According to the contract, the hospital’s revenues would come from fees charged for services it provides as well as monthly payments, called capitation, from the central government.
Lovell said the management company calculated the capitation at $3 million per month.
“We have never been able to make (that) and we agreed to provide $2 million per month. Now (that) still falls short and some of that is supplemented by the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS),” Lovell said.
In addition to paying part of government’s bill, MBS reportedly pays the hospital about $1 million a month on behalf of patients who use hospital services covered by MBS.
“It has been a funding challenge and they have not been able to get the level of funding that they have requested,” Lovell said.
“It may be that the cost is such that we would have to review whether or not we actually got what we had bargained for.”Lovell said his government agreed initially that an external body would run the hospital facility.
“Whether we would want to continue like that, that would be another question,” he said.
The finance minister said perennial reports of breakdowns in the quality of service at Mount St John’s are of greatest concern to government.
“Health is so important and this is not something that we take lightly,” he said.
“We had a meeting just last week and we resolved that whatever happens we must ensure that we provide the level of funding that allows the hospital to overcome these obstacles.”
For the last several years the hospital has been plagued by a lack of funds, which has resulted in outpatient services being reduced and capital equipment not being purchased.
In the early part of the year MSJMC struggled to meet payroll for its staff although there have been pronouncements that the hospital was understaffed.
