Patients may face higher fees to cover doctors' insurance

Patients may face higher fees from private doctors due to the introduction of mandatory insurance cover for healthcare professionals, the Medical Association of Malta has warned. Aimed at providing cover against patient compensation claims, new regulations, issued under the Indemnity Insurance Act, came into force last month and could mean private practitioners pay as much as €1,600 for a year’s coverage. “GPs will have to pay for this insurance themselves. This will result in a noticeable increase in their overhead costs and probably, as a result, an increase in fees,” MAM president Martin Balzan said. More in the Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.