Private hospitals call for inclusion in electricity tariff subsidy

The Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) has appealed to the Federal Government to include private hospitals in its electricity tariff subsidy.

The association made the appeal in a statement by its National President and Secretary, Dr Kayode Adesola and Dr Debo Adebiyi, on Thursday in Lagos.

The association said that their inclusion would enable them to remain affordable and accessible to citizens that receive about 70 per cent of health care from private health facilities across the country.

The leaders emphasized that for years, the private health sector had been at the forefront of demanding an electricity tariff subsidy for all health facilities in the country.

“We that have been pleading for respite from just one of the numerous overheads should not be suddenly left out at this stage.

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“If government thinks the public hospitals will need 50 per cent electricity subsidy, then the private hospitals should arguably benefit from a subsidy of between 75 per cent to 100 per cent.

“Over 40 per cent of our overheads go to energy provision as a necessity in our hospitals whether through electricity supply by the DISCOs or through self-generated energy.

“And 95 per cent of our patients can never afford the commensurate charges,”the statement noted.

The leadership of the association, maintained that many private hospitals overburdened by inflation have shut down in the last 18 months, while some personnel have joined in the brain drain trend.

The association, while commending government for heeding the call to subsidize electricity tariff to health facilities, said the gesture should not be discriminatory.

“Private facilities that have served the citizens of this country for over 103 years continuously and have faithfully borne all costs of running care delivery, should not be abandoned now that we are asking for support.

“How can private hospitals be left on the same electricity tariff as the blue chip companies, oil firms and the banking industry?

“Yet, it is our responsibility to provide humanitarian services, attending to all cases whether we are paid or not,”they said.

The leaders demanded fairness and equity, saying extending the electricity tariff subsidy to the private health sector would ultimately benefit the masses.

“The act of health care delivery remains substantially humanitarian as the majority of the citizens doing out-of-pocket can hardly meet up with commensurate bills, were these to be applied,”they said.

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They noted that health and education are two constant indices to which attention was paid optimally in most successful economies of the world.

The leaders further said that no serious nation undermines her private sector, especially the private health sector, which delivers 70 per cent of healthcare services and boasts of an enviable widespread across the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federal government on Aug. 29 approved a 50 per cent electricity subsidy for public hospitals across the country.

The decision was to reduce operational costs and ultimately alleviate the financial strain on patients.