BIRN: Check-Up Concession Returns to the State After Hefty Payments for Services Never Performed; Taxpayers Paid €66 Million Over 12 Years

The Albanian government is preparing to nationalize the basic medical check-up concession in September, transferring the service to a public company. Over 12 years, the check-up concession received around €66 million from taxpayers, some of it for tests that were never performed.

The Albanian government is preparing to take back the controversial basic medical check-up concession in September, after more than 12 years of operation by a private company.

Under a decision adopted by the Council of Ministers on July 30, the basic medical examination, otherwise known as the check-up, will continue to be provided to Albanian citizens over the age of 35 by a new public company called the “Integrated Healthcare Services Operator,” together with sterilization and hemodialysis services.

The check-up concession was the first public-private partnership contract awarded by the government led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, and it has cost Albanian taxpayers around €66 million in total.

It was signed in 2014 with a consortium comprising Marketing & Distribution, owned by businesswoman Vilma Nushi, and Trimed, which jointly established the concession company 3P Life Logistic.

However, it was later discovered that the concession formula allowed hefty payments for services that were never performed. Under the contract, the Ministry of Health paid 3P Life Logistic 730 million lek each year [around €7.8 million] to provide basic medical check-ups for a guaranteed number of 475,000 citizens.

But the number of citizens interested in undergoing the check-up was consistently lower than the Ministry of Health’s projections. According to a report by the Supreme State Audit, in the 2015-2021 period alone, the concession company received more than €9.2 million for tests that were never performed.

The basic medical check-up contract was one of four healthcare concessions awarded by the Rama government that were investigated by the Special Prosecution Office following allegations of corruption.

The investigation produced no results, but in a parallel case involving the concession for the sterilization of surgical equipment, SPAK charged former Health Minister Ilir Beqaj with abuse of office.

Beqaj was arrested on July 4, 2024, over the misuse of European Union funds while he headed the State Agency for Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination, SASPAC, while his detention measure was eased to house arrest on July 31 of this year. Beqaj is currently on trial over the sterilization concession./BIRN