New state hospital beds to cost twice as much as beds in private hospitals

The country’s largest private hospital, the 100-bed Medlife Memorial Hospital inaugurated in spring 2007, required an investment worth €10 million, which means that one of its beds costs €100,000. Romania’s first private hospital, the 80-bed Euroclinic, opened two and a half years ago, following an investment worth €10 million, at a cost of €125,000 per bed.

Even though the above-mentioned private investments are several years old, when materials and labor were less expensive, the discrepancy between private and public hospital investments persists in comparison to investments announced in the private sector. For instance, Medsana has announced it will invest €35 mln in a 200-bed hospital, whose cost includes the price of land, worth €10 mln, bringing the price of one of its hospital beds to €175,000. It is worth mentioning that state hospitals do not pay for land, made available to them by Local Councils. Another private project is that of Medicover, which estimates it will allocate €15 mln for an 80-bed hospital, translating to €187,000 per bed.

Some 85 percent of the state’s €3.7 billion hospital project will be financed with funds from the European Union. Bids have already been submitted and are due to be opened on 18 April, according to Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu. This stage will be followed by an evaluation of the bids in terms of costs, execution deadlines and quality. The Mediafax news agency quoted the Health Minister as saying that over 150 companies acquired tender books for the construction of regional hospitals.

The project is due to be finalized in 2012, with four hospitals in Iasi (786 beds), Targu Mures (844 beds), Craiova (878 beds), and Timisoara (732 beds), and 18 county hospitals with 462-446 beds each. The project also includes the construction of three municipal hospitals, three city hospitals and four communal hospitals.