The Health Regulatory Authority (ERS) publicly confirmed, on May 7, the right of private health care providers to include in the costs charged to their clients the price of personal protective equipment (PPE). After publicly raised doubts about the costs of masks and protective equipment for clinical teams and patients themselves, which were being presented to clients of private providers, ERS clarifies the matter, expressly stating in a statement that «an entity providing Health care may include personal protective equipment in the prices it establishes for health care, provided that it considers its use necessary for the safety and quality of the provision, concrete and effective, of such care» . ERS requires, however, that these prices «must be included in a price list, which must always be available for public consultation at the establishment to which it relates» , since it is the right of its clients to demand and receive «a forecast of correct costs on all financial aspects related to the provision of health care (…), namely, the values associated with additional benefits and / or consumption estimated in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and the epidemiological infection by COVID-19» . In line with guidelines previously issued by ERS, hospitals and clinics of the Hospital da Luz Network have, since the beginning of April, posted general information on the costs of PPE associated with healthcare in all their public receptions. At the same time, all this information was also posted on the hospitaldaluz.pt website, with the reasons why this personal protective equipment is needed, a list of PPE costs associated with the most common clinical procedures and the possibility of variations in these prices over the next few months and for the duration of the pandemic situation. In this context, on May 13, Luz Saúde updated the costs of PPE associated with health care throughout the Hospital da Luz Network, which can be consulted at the page prices and invoices from Hospital da Luz , suggesting to clients that they inform themselves in advance with their entity financier, or other responsible entity, on the conditions for reimbursement of these additional charges.
