Consultant costs hospital €318,000 by not signing off on claims, alleges health forum chief

A consultant at University Hospital Galway is costing the facility hundreds of thousands by failing to sign off private health insurance claims promptly.

The chairperson of the HSE West’s regional health forum Cllr Padraig Conneely says the consultant has €318,000 worth of unsigned claims on his/her desk.

“This is money that is owed to the hospital from private health insurance companies,” says the former mayor and city councillor.

“It is outrageous that one consultant has failed to sign off on €318,000 worth of claims. Currently UHG is owed more than €15 million by private health insurance companies. This is caused by consultants who fail to sign off on the necessary documents in order for the hospital to lodge a claim with the health insurers.”

He is demanding that UHG management take “strong” action against the consultants whose failure to complete the necessary documentation is preventing the hospital from submitting its claims.

Cllr Conneely has been highly critical of this practice in the past demanding last November that such consultants be “named and shamed”. He said this ongoing problem was raised on numerous occasions at local health forum meetings.

He stated then it was high time that action was stepped up to claw back this money for the cash starved regional facility adding it would ease its financial pressures.

 

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