Letterkenny University Hospital paid over €88,500 on debt collection fees from the year 2013 until 2022.
The information was released to Aontú leader Peadar Toibín.
The money was spent in a bid to chase up unpaid patient fees.
Over the course of the 10 years, 2018 was the most expensive year at €17,857 while only €339 was spent in 2021.
HSE Response:
‘Hospitals are required, under NFR B-2, to refer an unpaid debt to a collection agency after a period of time from date of billing. If any patient has difficulty paying a hospital bill the regulations allow for the hospital and the patient to agree an instalment arrangement. We would advise they contact their hospital directly to discuss this on a one to one basis. Hospitals are mindful in implementing these processes that patients may be experiencing stress and/or financial challenges and encourage patients who are having difficulties fulfilling their debt to make contact with the hospital to which the debt is owed in order to make alternative payment arrangements. If hospitals are made aware or become aware of such challenges, agreements may be reached between the patient and hospital on a case by case basis and debt collectors are not included in the process.
In 2018, a reduced number of staff available in the LUH Finance Department to manage unpaid patient fees, necessitated the use of external resources. Debt collection was suspended for a time in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a lower spend on these services.
The HSE seeks to maximise the recovery of income in a socially responsible, ethical, efficient and cost effective way. It should be noted that the collection of monies owed is a continuous, daily and large scale process.’
