Two days after knee surgery at the Hospital Arnau de Vilanova in Valencia, a patient had his external prosthesis taken away because he could not afford to pay the bill.
Under the co-payment system, introduced by the Ministry of Health in 2010, external orthopedic products such as collars and other items fall under the new system. The patient has to pay the full price for the product and then submit a claim for a partial rebate based upon income.
In this case, the patient would eventually only have to pay €30, but was presented with a bill for €152 by one of the staff. Unable to pay it, the prosthesis was removed and replaced by a plaster cast, which is free.