Portugal health system sees higher care payments and longer phone‑line waits
The Portuguese government issued a decree updating the daily amounts paid to the Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados (RNCCI). The update follows inflation with a 2.34% rise and adds a supplementary 2.36% surcharge, bringing the total adjustment to roughly 4.7%. The financing agreement, signed in April, foresees more than €440 million in additional state contributions over the next two years to sustain the long‑term care network.
A regulatory report shows that calls to the public health hotline Linha SNS 24 grew by 58.9% between 2024 and 2025. The surge coincided with a sharp rise in waiting times: calls waiting over 30 minutes increased from 58,525 in 2024 to 466,751 in 2025. The portal also recorded a 3.7‑point rise in referrals to primary‑care services, a 1.9‑point drop in self‑care referrals, and a shift toward more teleconsultations while fewer appointments were scheduled for face‑to‑face visits.
Entities: Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS) · Linha SNS 24 · Portugal · Portuguese Government · Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados (RNCCI)
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The RNCCI financing agreement adds over €440 million in state contributions over two years. (Portuguese government decree)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Teleconsultations increased and face‑to‑face appointment scheduling decreased for calls routed through SNS 24. (Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS) study)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Portugal updated RNCCI daily payment amounts with a 2.34% increase tied to inflation. (Portuguese government decree)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] An additional 2.36% surcharge was applied to RNCCI payments, bringing total adjustment to about 4.7%. (Portuguese government decree)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Referral to primary‑care services via SNS 24 grew by 3.7 percentage points, while self‑care referrals fell by 1.9 points. (Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS) study)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Calls to Linha SNS 24 increased by 58.9% between 2024 and 2025. (Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS) study)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Calls waiting over 30 minutes rose from 58,525 in 2024 to 466,751 in 2025. (Entidade Reguladora da Saúde (ERS) study)