Non-EU nationals leave over €2 million in unpaid hospital bills

In some cases, individual hospital fees of non-EU nationals claiming free healthcare can be nothing short of astronomical.

26 November 2013, 12:00am
by Tim Attard Montalto

2 min read

Since January 2008, the sum of €2,162,575.80 in unpaid hospital bills for the medical care of non-EU citizens has accumulated at various hospitals in Malta.

The figures were issued in parliament after Opposition health spokesman, Claudio Grech, requested the information from health minister Godfrey Farrugia.

Malta's national hospital, Mater Dei - which only started operating a few months previous to the starting-point of these figures - has generated the almost-inconceivable sum of €1,255,679 in unpaid hospital fees from non-EU citizens.

Meanwhile, patients at Mount Carmel Hospital and Gozo's General Hospital have racked up a total of €633,286.81 and €235,687.95, respectively.

The Karen Grech Rehabilitation Hospital has also accumulated a credit total of €37,922.04 in such fees.

During 2008, there were 262 cases of non-EU citizens receiving public medical care, of which 140 (53%) settled their bills but 122 (47%) did not, and so far have not.

In monetary terms, this equates to a total of €221,234 which was not paid from the year's total amount billed of €483,082.

The trend was to carry over to the following year in which only 133 (54%) bills of non-EU patients, out of a total of 248, were closed. The 115 (46%) patients who did not pay had a combined accumulation of €174,905 from the total amount billed of €429,571.

In some cases, the individual hospital fees were nothing short of astronomical.

In November 2008, for instance, one particular unpaid fee amounted to €16,981, whilst earlier that year another fee which stood at €14,908 was left unpaid.

Farrugia said that the government was committed in rectifying such mismanagement.

According to the law, healthcare in Malta is free for citizens, persons in possession of a valid work permit and any citizen of a foreign country who has a reciprocal understanding with Malta, with regard to subsides in health services.

In the case of non-taxpayers, a bill is issued from the place where the care was administered and the person in question is required to pay it, however if the person is able to present the required EU documents, the bill will be passed on to the respective authorities of his or her country of origin.

More from Tim Attard Montalto

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tinutaw kif bhalissa l eks ministru tas sahha Joe Cassar qishu tilef ilsienu u anke sparixxa ? hlief Jason azzopardi u il qaddisin l-ohra cladio and Beppe ma tarax .insomma naqra naqra kollha se jistahbew ,issa jmiss il Jason josfor wara il hmieg li hareg fuq il kaz tal Fekruna .

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P.s. We must also know how much EU nationals have cost us because if someone goes to an EU country he has to pay because most of them do not have free health care.

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Do like the USA. First see whether they have an insurance and if not if the case is not urgent do not give them any treatment. If the case is urgent keep their passports and notify all the emigration points to prevent them from leaving Malta untril they pay. We must also know how much illegal immigrants of whatever status they have been given has cost us including all social services they ahve been given because it is OUR TAXES that are being used for them. WHAT MP is now going to ask these questions?

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Let us ask one simple question. Who is paying the bill for illegal immigrants that need health care? After all they are non EU citizens and they are receiving FREE health care. We cannot ask the their original country to pay for their healthcare bills or for anything else since these illegal immigrants arrive here with no passports and no documents whatsoever to prove their identity or their nationality. Why is opposition health spokesman, Claudio Grech, requested the information from health minister Godfrey Farrugia. The PN has been habouring and treating these illegal immigrants for two decades and never asked them to pay a single euro. I wonder what the healthcare bill was for these illegal immigrants to be treated since the PN was in power for the last twenty five years. Was it right during those years not to charge non EU patients?

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Opposition health spokesman, Claudio Grech, SHOULD have requested this information from Dr. Joe Cassar ex - health Minister, if he is anywhere about! HIS SILENCE IS DEAFENING and someone seems to be keeping him away from the TV cameras !