HSE is owed €266m in unpaid care bills

THE amount of outstanding hospital patient charges owed to the HSE hit a staggering €266 million at the end of last year, the Irish Examiner has learned.

Despite increased collection attempts by the HSE, outstanding patient charges have significantly increased in recent years and the latest figure is more than double what was owed to the HSE in 2005 (€117m).

The bulk — €221m — of the current figure relates to outstanding private patient and road traffic accident charges, with €28m outstanding in statutory inpatient fees, €13m in unpaid emergency department charges and €4m of miscellaneous hospital patient fees.