Biman Prasad clarifies Aspen hospital funding after Chaudhry’s criticism

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad has rejected claims by Labour Leader Mahendra Chaudhry that Government made Aspen Medical richer at the expense of patients, saying Chaudhry has “his facts wrong – as usual.”

Professor Prasad said Aspen Medical Fiji is not a foreign-owned company, but operates under Health Care (Fiji) Pte Limited (HCF), which is 80% owned by the Fiji National Provident Fund and 20% by Aspen Medical of Australia. He explained that HCF is paid by Government for each patient treated at Ba and Lautoka hospitals, not through a fixed contract sum.

“The increase in budget funding for these hospitals is an estimate of how much Government will pay for patient treatments. If there are more patients, Government pays more; if there are fewer patients, Government pays less,” he said.

Hon Prasad noted that Ba and Lautoka hospitals treated around 950,000 patients in the year ended July 2025, with costs affected by the introduction of more complex services like cardiac care. He said the previous government had signed the original contract in 2019 and then altered it in 2022 by forcing Aspen to immediately take over Lautoka Hospital, creating major uncertainties.

He added that the Government was now working in good faith with HCF to make the contract more efficient and cost-effective. On the issue of medicines, Prasad said the changes were a Government decision to manage costs and that new Government-run dispensaries would soon be set up at the hospitals to address patient concerns.

Earlier, Mahendra Chaudhry had accused the Finance Minister of giving Aspen a $27 million increase while cutting free medicine supplies for patients. He questioned who represented Government and Aspen in the negotiations, what role FNPF played, and why Prasad — once a vocal critic of the Aspen deal — agreed to the increase.

“The entire Aspen saga from Khaiyum to Biman needs to be investigated to get the cat out of the bag,” Chaudhry said, while demanding answers on the delay in opening promised satellite pharmacies.