WILLEMSTAD - Minister of Health, Environment, and Nature, Javier Silvania, has agreed to the conditions for the next financial support to the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC). One of the key points is the planned purchase of an MRI machine. The cost of the MRI has already been included in the previously approved liquidity support of 25 million guilders, meaning that a lack of liquidity should not be a reason to delay the purchase, according to the minister.
Furthermore, Silvania wants to be informed every two months about the progress of the implementation of efficiency measures. If he is not fully and timely informed about the progress, this may affect the disbursement of the next tranche of liquidity support. The next report is scheduled for November 15.
The Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) has been facing serious financial problems for some time now. One of the main causes is its negative equity. The hospital's debt currently stands at 433 million guilders. Contributing factors to these problems include higher costs for uninsured patients and significant capital expenses due to the construction of the hospital.
The government of Curaçao has responded by allocating an additional 253 million guilders in financing between 2025 and 2028. This funding is intended to relieve capital expenses and cover the care of uninsured patients. Additionally, a portion of the budget will be used to stabilize the hospital's operations. For instance, 18 million guilders is reserved annually for capital expenses and 10 million guilders for uninsured care.
An important aspect of the solution is incorporating the CMC's losses into the national budget. The College Financial Supervision (Cft) has repeatedly urged this. The Curaçao government has now taken steps to explicitly include the financial risks of the hospital in the 2025 budget, allowing for better management of these risks.
In short, the government is trying to address the problem with a combination of additional funding and budget adjustments to compensate for the losses and ensure the quality of care.
Creditors
The government will also add a monthly list of creditors to the updated liquidity forecasts of the CMC, to be able to respond to any questions directly. Following the CMC's agreement to the stipulated conditions, the next tranche of five million guilders will be released.
The agreements were approved on October 22 by members of the board of directors, including General Director Gilbert Martina, Commercial Director Karina Lombardi-de Freitas Bras, and Medical Director Dr. Ingemar Merkies.