Kuwait And Us Medical Centers Discuss Payment Of Dues

According to times kuwait, The US embassy in Kuwait affirmed that Kuwait is in discussions with medical centers in the United States to seek payment for outstanding bills for medical treatments availed by Kuwaitis at US hospitals, reports Al-Anba daily

The daily said the embassy revealed that the United States government is working to enhance dialogue between Kuwait and the medical centers to reach an agreement.

The daily said, “We are looking forward to reaching a solution between the Kuwaiti government and the American medical centers, and we are confident of achieving that.” The embassy noted that medical centers in the United States are first-rate, and provide highly distinguished healthcare services.

“We are proud to provide these vital services to many. The history of health care between the United States and Kuwait goes back more than a century, through the establishment of the American Hospital in 1914. We are looking for ways to expand the volume of medical cooperation between our two countries, especially around coronavirus (covid- 19). We look forward Kuwait, US medical centers discuss payment of dues to discussing these opportunities for coordination between us in the next strategic dialogue,” the embassy pointed out

The Kuwait government has bills worth $677.4 million in United States’ top hospitals for sophisticated treatment provided to Kuwaiti nationals, which the institutions have spent years trying to collect.

The 45 medical centers including Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MD Anderson in Houston and others have worked unsuccessfully on their own and through the State Department to recoup financial dues for specialized cancer, heart, pediatric and other care provided to thousands of Kuwaitis.

For many years, unpaid bills have proven problematic to American hospitals as the cost of medical care has soared. The pandemic has worsened the situation for hospitals as patient volume is down due to lockdown measures, and lucrative elective procedures are canceled or postponed. According to the American Hospital Association, US hospitals and health systems could lose $323.1 billion in 2020. The Kuwaiti debt is small in comparison, but still poses a problem for some hospitals.

Foreign nationals are a small source of income for elite academic medical centers that provide specialized care usually not available in other countries.

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