HSE paid agencies €2.4m to collect unpaid patient fees

THE HSE has paid debt collection firms a minimum of €2.4 million since 2005 in an attempt to track down patients who owe a staggering €266m in hospital fees.

New figures confirmed by the executive show facilities across the country are continuing to seek these firms’ assistance as hard-pressed members of the public fail to pay.

Over the past six years debt collectors Intrum Justitia and Cash Flow Services — the latter of which is in examinership — have received almost all of the taxpayer-funded contracts.