As rebellions go, it was somewhat of a damp squib. The lofty ambitions of a group of Abu Dhabi private hospitals to demand a 40% increase in reimbursement fees from insurers have fallen at the first hurdle, after regulators flatly refused the increase.
In a meeting, the 14 hospitals, which are banded under the umbrella of the Hospital Private Committee (HPC), were also rebuked for collective bargaining. The facilities were instructed to negotiate future price increases individually.
“We tried to negotiate as a whole but unfortunately there were arithmetical barriers,” Rassel Kaffem, marketing manager at Al Noor Hospital, told Medical Times. “The regulators said that this is a free market and they don’t encourage people in groups to go and negotiate as one.”
Members of the HPC met with representatives from insurance companies, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to discuss their frustrations over low reimbursement rates and the rising cost of inflation and material goods.
Carl V. Stanifer, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Company for Health Services (SEHA) felt he had seen little evidence in the market that justified such a substantial price increase.
“I know that we have had significant inflation in the last three years, but I haven’t seen any numbers that supports 40%,” he said.
Having been turned down as a collective, the HPC’s members are likely to be forced to accept price increases less than a quarter of the rise they initially requested.
Industry reports suggest that reimbursement rates will not increase by more than 10%.
“Now each hospital will meet again and decide what is the right percentage for them individually – depending on the quality of the hospital’s services, its staff, the facilities and of course the market share,” said Kaffem. “Each hospital will get a different increase.”
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