October 29, 2019
The Nova Scotia Health Authority says the cost for treating patients from outside Canada at Halifax area hospitals was about $8 million in 2018-2019. It estimates that 20% of the bills won't be collected. Many of the OOC patients treated in Halifax are cruise ship passengers. The daily fee for intensive care at QEII sites and Dartmouth General Hospital is $18,540 per day for out-of-country patients. The fee for an emergency/outpatient visit is $897.50. It’s not unusual for the the Halifax Infirmary emergency room to treat five cruise ship passengers a day during peak season.
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