PATIENTS' FEES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 125, 23 November 1923, Page 4

PATIENTS' FEES

FOR HOSPITAL SERVICE

COLLECTION OF OUTSTANDING

ACCOUNTS,

At the meeting of the Wellington Hospital Board yesterday, the question of the recovery of the large amount outstanding as fees of in-patients was again raised. The Finance, Property, and Policy Committee recommended: "That the special committee, comprising Messrs. Castle, Luke, Appleton, and Hornblow, set up to deal -with patients' fees accounts, be appointed a standing committee, to be designated ' Patients' Fees Accounts Committee,' and that Messrs. Bertram, Cole, and M'Curdy be added to this committee, and Mr. W. Appleton be appointed chairman. , That the Patients' Fees Accounts Committee will deal with all outstanding fees for in-patients, dental, X-ray bacteriological, physiotherapeutic, massage, etc. That the Commercial Agency be authorised to col-" lect such outstanding accounts for patients' fees as are handed to them after approval of the Fees' Committee, but that no legal proceedings are to be taken without the special sanction of the committee. That the Commercial Agency submit specimens of the forms used, and that a monthly statement and settlement bo obtained on or before the 20th of each month."

The chairman moved the adoption of the report, and in doing so said that there would be nothing in the way of intimidation involved in this new suggested departure. The approval of the committee must be obtained before definite steps were taken.

INTERESTING FIGURES.

Mr. Appleton said, under this head, there was £70,000 on the books of the institution, even-after writing off £7800. As far as he could see, the board ought to,have written off about £40,000 Last year £49,000 was debited to fees, of which amount only £iO,OOO was collected ; and only £12,000 was written off. A considerable amount of the £70,000 had been owing to the board for seven or eight years. He thought the time had come when drastic action should be taken. Last year, as he had said, only £10,000 was collected out of £50,000, and this year £7000 had so far been coliected out of £23,000. There had been an improvement, but better still could i£r,7S,n e',_ He cx Plained that in' the ±-70,000 there was included accounts connected with old-age pensions, social welfares and also by patients sent here' by other institutions. Some oi these accounts should have been written off the books years ago. He heartily supported the proposal to get a business firm to do the work. After all, they should treat this work on a business basis. Care would be taken that the accounts handed. over to the agency would be such as there was a fair chance oi: collection The detailed figures for the past three,years with respect to' the maintenance fees of in-patients are as follows :— 1920-21: Pees recoverable, £35 864 • £29 225leCted' £10 '096; fees written off' 1921-22: Fees recoverable, £39 805 • ic!So e& £9>849; written off ' £37,010. J.a^-45: Fees recoverable, £49,633: ° io 6« 6o d; •eio '6slJ written, off, £12,378. 1923-24 (seven months)': Fees' recovtenoff £78178: C°llecled) £7010 J writ•c^ c .™Outßtanding' 31stOctober,. 1923,

WHO SHOULD DO THE COLLECTING?

Mr. Hornblow remarked that, being LfT the com™^. he was stagNo l^hf + l am°Unt 6win S to the bo^d. %l \ f/ Te w? ve considerable sum. which should not have appeared. When the proposal was first made that the collection should be handed over to the Commercial Agency, he was hostile to t'w -ti, *?'<. 1°- fc yet c°nvinced that, it was the right thing to do.- It showed weakness on the part of the board. .» The Rev H. Van Stavereh: "Have you any_other system in your mind?" Mr. .Hornblow replied that he had not; and it was a pity that Mr. Van Staveren, during the many years he had been on the board, had not made some suggestion. Mr. Hornblow expressed the opinion that the board's own staff should do the collecting. Mr. Butler' was of opinion that th'o board should, through fts own officer! collect these accounts. He supported the suggestion for want of a. better proposai. ' . , r ■

Mr. H. Van Staveren said that precautions would be taken that no summons be issued without the sanction of the committee. Some amounts, of course, could not be collected. A working man with a tamily and a small income could not be expected to pay full fees. Mr. Petherick said the agency would only be entrusted with the collection of accounts of people who-'could pay but would not pay. Proper safeguards would be taken with respect to the position of the board. . r

Mi.. Chapman opposed the recommendation of the committee. He was afraid that the result of the proposed new sy- ßtern would be that a certain number of timid persons would be coerced into paying,' and the artful dodgers would continue to evade payment. Ho moved that the report be referred back to the committee, for the purpose of ascertaining if steps should not be taken in the way oi appointing an officer of the board as a collector. • Mr. Campbell favoured the appointment of a collector instead of handinfr over the collection to the Commercial Agency. ■ . . Mr. M'Curdy remarked that it was only proposed to hand over guch cases as the committee could not deal with tie supported the proposal. The chairman pointed out that the ices Committee would consider the collection of the accounts by a collector, quite apart from the question of handing over certain accounts for collection to the Commercial Agency. The amendment was negatived, and the committee's recommendation was adopted.