The Health Insurance Act states that a hospital may charge a patient a daily bed fee. The maximum fee can be charged for 10 days.
When a patient moves from one hospital to another, the daily bed fee calculation starts again. This means the patient has to pay once more.
The Health Insurance Fund says this is unfair. The patient is still the same sick person. The Ministry of Social Affairs acknowledges this is a problem.
The head of the Health Insurance Fund spoke with the Minister of Social Affairs. He said hospitals don't share information. Each hospital uses its own system. That's why they don't know how much the patient has already paid.
The daily bed fee can be difficult for patients. When a patient moves between hospitals, they have to pay more. This is not always fair.
An expert from the Ministry of Social Affairs said the law isn't clear. There are no clear rules about daily bed fees. We need to discuss how to change this.
The expert said the patient sees themselves as one treatment case. But hospitals consider each new hospital day as a new case. This can be confusing.
The Ministry of Social Affairs says clear rules are needed. Then patients will know how much they have to pay.