WILLEMSTAD - The Capriles clinic receives an advance of almost four million guilders to cover the dire financial shortfalls that have arisen due to years of refusal by the Curaçao government to adjust the rates.
The Ministry of Health is currently investigating a new rate structure for mental health care in Curaçao.
This is part of the restructuring of the healthcare offer and ultimately also a reorganization of the healthcare providers, including the Capriles clinic, with the aim of improving service and reducing costs.
The implementation of the improvements in mental health care and the completion of the rate study and the subsequent implementation of a new rate structure will take some time, hence the advance.
The nearly four million guilders involved in this will be used for the shortfall due to the old rates, but 2.7 million guilders will also have to be incurred in arrears in the maintenance of the buildings, the replacement of broken inventory, and the upgrading of the ICT infrastructure.
When determining the advance installments, the investigations of the Curaçao Healthcare Authority have been considered.
The government has set the condition for the payment of the advance installments that all salaries are paid this year, including indexation. Mental health care should not be stopped. The institutions must also comply with all tax obligations.
The advances may only be used for the payment of necessary mental/healthcare costs. The expenditure of the advances provided will be checked in advance in accordance with agreements to be made with the board of the CMC hospital. The Capriles Clinic must provide a list of creditors to the Ministry of Finance monthly.