By Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner WriterTHE MINISTRY of Health is expecting to rake in $1.25 billion in user fees for services delivered in hospitals and health centres in the four Regional Health Authorities during the 2004/05 fiscal year.
A breakdown in the projections set out in the Estimates of Expenditure for 2004/2005 shows that the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) covering Kingston & St. Andrew, St. Thomas, and St. Catherine is expected to take in $503,800,000.00 the lion's share.
PROJECTIONS
The Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), covering the parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland, comes second in the projections, with the Health Ministry expecting to collect $333,536,000.00 in 2004/2005.
The parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon, in the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), are expected to yield $249,700,000.00.
Expectations are lowest for the North East Regional Health Authority (NEHRA), comprising Portland, St. Mary and St. Ann, which is slated to collect $167,200,000.00 in user fees for the fiscal year.
