Marbella's Costa del Sol Hospital to start issuing 'shadow bills'

MARBELLA (Agencies) The Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella (photo) is ready to start issuing what the Spanish press callas facturas sombra, or 'shadow bills. As we reported on JimenaPulse -calling them 'phantom bills'- the health service of Andalucía (Servicio Andaluz de Salud, or SAS) costs €3,000 million a year and the authorities are today starting a campaign of awareness. The Marbella hospital is the first to issue the 'phantom bills' (at the moment only for a few procedures, see below) in a campaign that is intended to spread through Andalucía, and eventually the rest of Spain. Thus a patient leaving the hospital will receive a bill for all the time he or she has been admitted, with details of costs - but the bill does not have to be paid. For the time being patients will be billed for only five things:>
Surgery for cataracts, hernias and gallbladder, and two diagnostic procedures of the digestive system and cardiology.


The costs of the above items are as follows:

Surgical procedures:

• Cataract surgery €1,399
• Hernia €1,147
• Gallbladder €1,470

Diagnosis ('phantom bill' is received after results)

• Gastroscopy €64.92
• Colonoscopy €202.13
• Ecocardiograph €100,32

Now we know...