STA, March 20, 2018 – A total of 44 health institutions in Slovenia finished 2017 in the red, of which 11 were hospitals which were bailed out with state funds, data by the Association of Healthcare Institutions show.
The number of health institutions posting a loss was last year up by 23 compared to the year before despite the state aid.
Although the government allocated additional EUR 135.8m to help the 15 hospitals in trouble, 11 of them nevertheless failed to make ends meet by the end of last year. In 2016, 13 hospitals posted a loss.
The number of community health centres in the red rose from six in 2016 to 32.
The 11 hospitals generated a combined loss of almost EUR 9.9m, which is 74.9% less than in 2016, when the loss reached EUR 39m and hospitals received no state aid.
The 16 hospitals in the black meanwhile posted a surplus of just over EUR 85.5m, while the surplus generated by hospitals in 2016 stood at EUR 7.2m.
Community health centres generated some EUR 5m in loss, which is ten times more than in 2016. Those posting a surplus meanwhile generated EUR 2.2m more revenue than they had expenditure, which is significantly lower than in 2016, when their combined surplus topped EUR 10.3m.
The Association of Healthcare Institutions assessed that the bail out of hospital was not successful, arguing that it failed to cover 80% of the total losses of hospitals from the end of 2016, which was the goal, but merely less than a half of them.
The association attributes this to the fact that the hospitals used part of the money they received from the government to cover operating costs in 2017.
The hospitals that received state aid at the end of November have until the end of the month to present their plans for restructuring.
