Patients begin receiving 'informative' hospital bills

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) As we announced here, hospitals have begun issuing bills to patients leaving the Punta de Europa and La Línea facilities. We stress that these bills DO NOT have to be paid. They are merely a way for the health care system to point out the costs involved in a number of procedures carried out by the service. For the time being, only patients for the most common procedures will be receiving these 'phantom' bills together with an explanatory letter in Spanish: cataracts, hernias and gallbladders. Later, gradually, patients receiving CAT scans, breast X-rays (mammographies) and magnetic resonance scans will be receiving these bills, as well as all major ambulatory patients.>The manager for the Campo de Gibraltar Health Area, Inmaculada Cosano, pointed out that while many costs are standardized, there are differences in prices among hospitals owing to a number of variables such as direct costs for personnel, or indirect costs for cleaning, security and administration.

However, while the billing system is firmly established, costs at both Campo hospitals for the three 'billable' operations are as follows: €1,772.93 for a cataract operation (catarata), €1,453.99 for a groin hernia (hernia inguinal) and €1,862.79 for a gallbladder removal (extirpación de la vesícula).