The ACT Government is proposing to pay $77 million to acquire the Calvary Public Hospital from the Little Company of Mary Health Care.

Terry Dwyer, in a document prepared for the community consultation process, said the cash cost of the purchase of the hospital over 20 years was calculated by the ACT Treasury at $535 million, significantly more than if it stayed in its existing ownership.

It was revealed exclusively by The Canberra Times in April that the ACT Government and the Little Company of Mary had been in secret talks over the sale since last year.

On October 1, the ACT Government announced a six-week consultation period after it revealed it proposed to proceed with the purchase of Calvary Hospital and sell the ACT's only hospice, Clare Holland House, to LCM for $9 million.

The ACT Liberals have announced they will oppose the sale but the fate of the hospital rests with the Greens.

The Opposition claimed there was no advantage in having Calvary run by bureaucrats.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times