Providers justify charging private patients the cost of enhanced protection. Deco criticizes. Some dental groups and clinics have already stopped charging fees.
Amounts charged to customers for personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers vary by more than three times between private units. In one of the large groups, there are 16 different bets. And there are clients who don’t fit: “If they exist, it’s because they have the hygiene and safety conditions to be a hospital. This suggests that the existence of viruses etc. is their responsibility,” says JN José Santos, who paid fees at two private hospitals.
While CUF charges a daily fee of two euros for an outpatient clinic (consultations, ongoing care, imaging, dentistry, etc.), the Hospital da Luz network practices a range of 16 “predictive values” per “set” that reach 50 euros. in a block (150 if it is a covid-19 patient), 7.5 euros in dentistry (15 in case of covid-19) or 30 in interventional cardiology.
