As of April, the hospital bed-day fee increased from €2.5 to €5 and the outpatient specialist visit fee from €5 to €20. For more vulnerable groups, including people on income support, people with reduced work capacity, children under 19, women with children, people over 63 and the unemployed, the visit fee remains at €5.
Under the amendment, repeat appointments can only be charged once a year. The same rules will also apply to specialists who are treated as health professionals, such as physiotherapists, clinical psychologists and speech therapists, who provide outpatient services on the basis of a referral from a family doctor or specialist.
