MAKARIOS hospital yesterday confirmed that a housemaid earning €340 a month could be sued if she does not pay the bill for her premature baby’s intensive care.
Milagrin Lopes holds a valid work permit and has paid taxes for nine years. She received a €5,583 bill from the hospital for two months of intensive care after she went into early labour.
Androulla Karaiskou, an officer in the Makarios Hospital’s billing department, said yesterday “If you want to have a baby, you have to pay for it.
“The price is the same whether you are an EU citizen or not.”
Asked what would happen if somebody could not pay their bill, Karaiskou said, “We would send the bill to their lawyer. If a patient cannot pay the whole bill, then they can pay a small amount each month. If they refuse, it can go to court.”
In the current healthcare system, most people have some cover. Medical cards (entitling the bearer to free care) are available to resident EU citizens or third country citizens if they marry a Cypriot.
Medical benefits are also available to those with health insurance.
The problem is that a growing number of people, such as housemaids, do not fall into these categories – even though they pay social insurance, which registers them as income earners in Cyprus.
The government’s approach to third country migrant’s healthcare has so far been inadequate, placing the burden of responsibility firmly on the individual without providing options.
Health Minister Christos Patsalides said yesterday, “Every worker is obliged to establish their own insurance. It is their responsibility to make their own arrangements and if they have omitted to take measures then they have to pay for healthcare.”
This will be little consolation for Lopes – not least because she had a health insurance policy that was devised by the government – which places a €500 limit on any childbirth related costs.
Had her life been threatened by anything other than her child, she would be eligible for up to €8,500, which would cover all of her costs.
There is a ray of hope, however. Asked if it would be possible to make a discretionary decision about individual cases, Patsallides said, “We need to be sensitive to humanitarian issues, and there have been several cases when we have dealt with humanitarian cases individually.
“I am not aware of this particular case but I will review it.”
The irony of the situation increases when one considers government subsidies to promote young families.
For Doros Polycarpou, President of Action for Equality, Support, Anti-racism (KISA) government policy targets immigrants in particular.
“There are three high risk groups: domestic workers, undocumented migrants and sex workers.”
He explained that the problem is twofold. “Firstly, insurance policies do not cover the important issues, such as pregnancy, and secondly, this is a denial of fundamental human rights that goes against the public interest.
“Young mothers are particularly vulnerable, because the government does not deport them but they cannot get residency papers.”
