Burma Licenses Private Hospitals, Clinics

Private sector medical services in Burma will now require a government license to operate under a 2007 law regulating private health care hospitals and clinics.

An owner of a private clinic in Rangoon said she received a government notice in September that private hospitals, clinics and health services in Rangoon and other cities must apply for a government license and must pay fees and duties to the Health Ministry under the new law.  

"Many of the private clinics and hospitals in Rangoon are operating now on temporary licenses,” said an administrator of a privately owned clinic in Rangoon.
 
Since Burma became a one-party Socialist rule after the army assumed state power in 1962, private hospitals have been prohibited. Only private specialized or general clinics are allowed to operate.

Private hospitals can now legally provide health care services under the 2007 law.  

"Some specialized clinics, such as Shwe Gon Taing clinic or Asia Taw Win clinic are practically operating like advanced hospitals,” said a physician. “But they can't brand themselves as hospitals; instead they call themselves ‘clinics in high degree.’” 

A general clinic with one physician must pay a 15,000 kyat (US $13) annual fee and 30,000 kyat ($27) for a license; with two to three physicians, the annual fee is 30,000 kyat and 60,000 kyat ($54.54) for a license; for four or more physicians, the annual fee is 50,000 kyat ($45.45) and 100,000 ($90.90) kyat for a license.

Clinics with specialized physicians or surgeons must pay fees that range from 80,000 to 150,000 kyat ($140).  

To operate as a private hospital, fees range from 750,000 kyat ($650) to 3 million kyat ($2,800), depending on the number of beds.

The owner of a specialized clinic said that taxes must also be paid, and the new fees could raise the price of medical services.

One Rangoon physician said the licensing of clinics should enhance the quality of medical treatment by applying higher uniform standards.    

"It could be a benefit to patients, if the government controls private clinics with some regulations instead of letting them operate without oversight. I see this as good for the public," he said.

Others noted that many members of the public can’t afford to visit a private clinic or hospital, and the government should improve public health services.

”The government should spend more on the health sector,” said a veteran journalist. “The objective of developing the health sector can not be achieved only by disciplining the private health sector."
 
Overall, Burmese citizens struggle to cope with medical costs, even at public facilities, and those who can afford government medical services complain of poor service and a lack of equipment and medicine.

A Rangoon resident said, "If you are hospitalized, you have to buy cotton and gauze for yourself. The public hospitals provide nothing for you. There are some written slogans in the hospital such as 'sharing cost for health care.' You don’t get anything free in a public hospital. Every person in Burma knows that is real situation."   

Health Ministry statistics say the government spends 849 kyat ($ 0.80 cents) for every citizen annually. According to the World Health Organization, in 2003 the total health services expenditure by the government and private citizens as a percentage of GDP was estimated a 2.8 percent.

A ministry official said the ratio of hospital beds to population is 62 beds per 100,000 people. The government has a goal of 75 beds per 100,000 people in 2010, the official said.

According to the 2007 health care law, a private clinic or hospital without a license can be shut down.