A year and a half ago, visiting a doctor became four times more expensive. The discharge fee increased from five euros to 20 euros, and the daily bed fee rose from 2.5 euros to five.
Since then, the number of patients in debt at North Estonia Medical Centre has doubled. The debt amount has tripled. "About 70 percent are daily bed fees, and 30 percent are discharge fees, mainly emergency discharge fees that remain unpaid," said Anneli Habicht, service manager of PERH.
According to Habicht, half the cases are simply due to forgetfulness. The other half have no intention of paying. Before turning to a collection agency, the hospital tries to collect the debt on its own within a couple of months. "If we look at which target groups owe us more, it seems to be elderly people and quite young adults. Men tend to owe more," said Habicht.
Last year, nearly 2200 people owed money to Narva Hospital. Generally, these are small amounts that are paid after a reminder. "This year, in nine months, the number of debtors has increased by about 25 percent," said Narva Hospital director Üllar Lanno.
The University of Tartu Hospital has no such concerns. "The clinic receives its main income from the health insurance fund contract. People's own contribution accounts for less than three percent of this," said Joel Starkopf, a member of the board of TÜ Hospital.
According to Julianus Inkasso, the number of claims from hospitals has increased by a few percentage points. Some healthcare institutions have submitted 10 percent more claims. "When the discharge fee was five euros, it was a bit easier to pay," said Merle Laurimäe, CEO of Julianus Inkasso.
More than half of debtors pay off their debt within a year after receiving a letter from the collection agency. Then, money must also be found for late fees and a collection fee of up to 30 euros. "It can rise to around 55 euros at most," said Laurimäe.