What are hospital charges?
Charges for out-patients and emergency services
Daily in-patient charges in public hospitals
Private patients

Everyone living in Ireland and certain visitors to Ireland are entitled to a range of health services either free of charge or at reduced cost. If you need to attend a public hospital or stay overnight in hospital as a public patient, you may be liable for Hospital Charges. Medical card holders and certain other groups do not have to pay hospital charges. Read more about Over 70s Medical Cards here.

Types of Hospital Charges
There are several types of hospital charges, which include:

• Out-patient charges
• Emergency Department charges
• Daily in-patient charges
• Long-term stay charges

Out-patient and Emergency Department (A+E)Charges
If you attend the out-patients department or emergency department (A+E) of a public hospital without being referred by your GP or family doctor, you may be charged a standard fee. There is no charge if you are referred by your GP.

From January 1 2009, this charge will be €100.

This charge is not applicable if your are in one of the following groups:

• Medical card holders
• People admitted to hospital after attending the emergency department (you will then be subject to in-patient/day service charges)
• People receiving treatment for prescribed infectious diseases
• People who are entitled to hospital services because of EU Regulations

Note that in select cases where people have difficulty paying, the HSE may provide the service free of charge. You should also note that return visits in relation to the same illness or accident will not be subject to any additional charge.

If you are referred by your GP to out-patients for specialist assessment by a Consultant or his or her team for diagnostic assessments such as x-rays, laboratory tests or physiotherapy, there is no charge if you attend as a public patient. If you wish to attend a consultant as a private patient, you will be required to pay the appropriate private fee.

Daily In-patient charges in public hospitals
If you stay overnight as a public patient in a public hospital, you are an in-patient. From January 1 2009, in-patients are charged a standard fee of €75 per night, up to a maximum of €750 in one year. This represents a small fraction of the cost of your care.

If you are admitted to the hospital and under the care of a consultant and not required to stay overnight, you may still have to pay day service charges.

In-patient or day service charges do not apply to the following groups:

• Medical card holders
• People receiving treatment for prescribed infectious diseases
• People who are subject to "long stay" charges
• People who are entitled to hospital services because of EU Regulations

In cases of excessive hardship the HSE may provide the service free of charge.

Long-stay patients
Health Regulations came into effect on 14th July 2005 which stated that Charges may be imposed on long-stay or extended care patients in HSE public care, up to a maximum of €153.25 per week. The Regulations provide for different charging arrangements, depending on the level of nursing care being provided.

Class 1: those receiving in-patient services in premises where nursing care is provided on a 24 hour basis. Maximum weekly charge for care will be €153.25, or their weekly income less €44.70, whichever is the lesser.

Class 2: those receiving in-patient services in premises where nursing care not provided on a 24 hour basis. Maximum weekly charge will be the lesser of €114.95, or the person's weekly income less €70.15, or 60% of the persons weekly income.

In certain circumstances the Health Service Executive has the discretion to alter charges in order to avoid hardship.

Private patients in public or voluntary hospitals

Patients who opt for private in-patient (including day-care) services in public hospitals are liable for a range of private accommodation charges (see table hereunder) and a charge equivalent to the statutory charge (currently €75 per day up to a maximum of €750 in any 12 month period). There are no exemptions from these charges.

The rates set at the 1^st January 2012 are as follows:

As a private patient of the consultant who is treating you, you must also pay for the consultant’s services which may include the services of radiation oncologists, anaesthetists, etc.