The National Federation of Health Care Providers warned today that as of the 31st the system for paying health insurance providers will no longer be operational, blaming the Ministry of Health for failing to adopt the necessary procedures.
“Due to the entry into force of the new organization of the SNS on January 1, 2024, 31 new Local Health Units were implemented, which succeeded the Regional Health Administrations in their financial responsibilities for the provision of health care in their area of coverage. However, so far, the Local Health Units’ adherence to the Payment System for Contractors has not been confirmed or ensured, and it is not known what they will do from March 31 regarding this payment system,” said the federation’s secretary-general, António Neves, quoted in a statement.
According to the same source, the absence of the Payment System for Contractors will have “catastrophic consequences”, both for the sector and for patients.
“The total lack of definition of the NHS on this matter will have the immediate effect of financially strangling the units in the contracted sector, with very serious losses for patients, since each unit that cannot afford to operate will not be able to guarantee users’ access to the provision of health services, complementary means of diagnosis and therapy,” the structure argued.
In 1997, the state defined a system that stabilized payment for health services in the contracted sector. Currently, “with the omission” in the preparation and transfer to the new organizational reality, “there is a devaluation of the more than 100 million annual acts of the contracted sector”, defended the federation, which claims to represent around a thousand health providers.v
