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MORE than half the private nursing home operators are likely to vie for the 500 subsidised patients the Ministry of Health has offered to let them look after.
The 11 operators who turned up for the Ministry of Health briefing on Monday now look after the majority of the 3,500 patients in the private sector.
In the first move of its kind, the ministry is asking private operators to bid to care for up to 500 poor and less-mobile patients.
These patients are usually housed in nursing homes run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWO). Eight private homes already take in such patients, but at a rate fixed by the ministry.
MOH has asked interested homes to state by March 20, how much they want, how many patients they can accommodate and what they can provide.
Once the bids are accepted, homes are committed for two years.
The 90-minute briefing on Monday was mainly on technical clarifications and what evaluation would be based on - which is both price and quality of care.
A ministry spokesman said: 'Through this competitive market-based bidding system, we hope to get the best performance and value when allocating subsidised beds to existing or new providers.'
The ministry also hopes to involve more private operators in the management of poorer patients in this growing segment of healthcare through 'healthy competition.'
Homes can bid for as few as 10 patients, and up to the maximum of 500 patients.
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