Increased funding for Aspen is linked with the services provided – Prof. Prasad

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad says the increased funding in the National Budget for Ba and Lautoka Hospital is not for a fixed contract payment to Health Care (Fiji) Pte Limited, it is an estimate of how much the Government will pay them in the coming fiscal year for treating the patients at those hospitals.

Professor Prasad clarified this as the Fiji Labour Party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry was wrong about the hospital’s ownership and how the contract with Aspen works.

Chaudhry said that Professor Prasad has not explained why he made Aspen - an overseas company - richer by $27m and in the process, removed the free medicine supply to patients at the Ba and Lautoka hospitals.

The Fiji Labour Leader also demanded answers as to why the Deputy Prime Minister agreed to this huge 25 percent increase when he was the most vocal critic about the Aspen Public/ Private Partnership deal as an opposition MP.

Professor Prasad says if there are more patients, the government pays more and vice versa.

The Deputy Prime Minister says that Aspen Medical is not an overseas company; it is owned 80 percent by the Fiji National Provident Fund and 20 percent by Aspen Medical of Australia.

He says Chaudhry is running around looking for conspiracies as usual.

The Deputy Prime Minister says the health services at those hospitals are free for patients, like all Fiji public hospitals and the government pays HCF for every patient treated.

He says in the year ended 31 July 2023, Ba and Lautoka performed around 930,000 patient treatments.

In the year ended 31 July 2025, this number was around 950,000 patient episodes.

He says the complexity of the treatment mix has changed as cardiac and other services are now being offered, which have a higher charge per treatment.

Professor Prasad says the government does not pay HCF a fixed contract sum.

He says the previous government signed a contract with HCF in 2019 and under this contract, a new hospital was to be built in Lautoka and HCF would begin operations when building plans were finalised.

The Deputy Prime Minister says that in early 2022, the previous government altered the deal, instead demanding that HCF immediately commence operations at the existing Lautoka Hospital.

Professor Prasad says this has caused uncertainty, and the government and HCF are now working in good faith to resolve these issues.

He further says in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the government budgeted $60 million for HCF costs, but the costs ended up at almost $120 million.

He says that is why he was critical and remains critical of how this deal was done in 2019; however, they are legally bound under this contract and must continue with it.

Professor Prasad says the Health Ministry is taking steps to create government dispensaries at those hospitals, which will be set up in the next few months.

He adds that Chaudhry should get his basic facts right before making silly statements.

Meanwhile, Chaudhry is calling for a full investigation into the Aspen saga.