When the first wave of Covid-19 struck, the state urgently needed to boost its healthcare capacity. It entered a deal in April 2020 to take control of Ireland’s €1.2 billion private hospital sector. In exchange for covering the operating costs of the hospitals, the state had access to all their services. As it panned out, the crisis wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Public hospitals weren’t completely overwhelmed, or not as much as anticipated, and the HSE never used more than 45 per cent of the capacity of private hospitals.  But when it came to footing the bill, the state appears to…

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