Healthcare

Debt collection for healthcare with international patients

Unpaid treatment bills from patients who have gone home, and invoices from clinics and labs in other countries, collected by a licensed partner in the debtor's country. You pay only when money is recovered.

$0 upfront Partners who work under local consumer rules Send only what the claim needs
Sound familiar?

When the patient lives in another country

Clinics, hospitals and dental practices treat patients from abroad every day. When a bill is left unpaid, the patient is already home.

Treatment bills after the patient left

The treatment is done, the patient has flown home, and the balance is still open.

Failed payments and insurance gaps

A card payment fails, or insurance covers less than expected and the patient does not pay the rest.

Clinics, labs and suppliers abroad

Labs, suppliers and partner clinics with unpaid invoices from healthcare businesses in other countries.

A different language and legal system

Collecting from someone abroad needs a partner who knows the language and the local rules.

How Debitura helps

A local partner where your patient lives

We match each claim to a licensed agency or law firm in the debtor's country, who contacts them in their own language under local rules.

Matched to your case

Consumer and business claims go to a vetted partner in the debtor's country, chosen for the type of claim and how partners perform on our platform.

One contract, every country

You sign the Standard Debt Collection Agreement once. The same No Cure, No Pay terms apply in every country.

Every step in view

Follow each case on one platform and talk directly to the partner working it. You approve payment plans over 12 months and discounts over 20%.

Handled with care

Collect the bill, not the medical file

A debt claim needs the invoice and what the patient agreed to pay, not their diagnosis. Send only what the claim needs, and the partner contacts the patient in a neutral, factual and respectful tone.

Data protection at Debitura

  • Send: the invoice, the cost estimate or agreement the patient signed, and their contact details.
  • Leave out: diagnoses, treatment notes and other medical details the claim does not need.
  • Tone: partners explain who is contacting the patient, on whose behalf and how to settle.
How it works

From overdue invoice to money in your account

  1. Submit the bill

    Upload the invoice and the signed cost estimate or agreement. You see the fee before you confirm.

  2. A local expert takes over

    We match the claim to a licensed partner in the patient's country. You talk to them directly in the case chat.

  3. You get paid

    You get paid what is recovered, minus the partner's share. Court action only starts if you accept a quote.

See every step

How Debitura works · 2:39 · Lars Holdgaard, founder

What it costs

No Cure, No Pay, with the fee shown before you submit

No setup fee, no subscription and no retainer. If money is recovered, the success fee depends on where your patient lives and the size of the claim. Minimum claim sizes depend on the market and on whether the debtor is a consumer or a business.

See your feeSee what you sign

Europefrom 6%

EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK and Switzerland

Internationalfrom 7.5%

Every other country, including the United States

Industry facts

International patients and their bills, in numbers

Clinics and hospitals that treat patients from abroad often bill the patient directly, while the patient seeks any reimbursement from a home insurer or health system later. An unpaid treatment bill is health data under the GDPR, so what can be shared with a collector, and with the debtor's country, is tightly limited.

Reimbursement requests for cross-border care without prior authorization, 2023

In 2023, 23 European countries reported receiving 449,069 requests for reimbursement of cross-border healthcare not subject to prior authorization. France and Germany received 76.6% of them.

  • France180001 requests
  • Germany164143 requests
  • Italy265 requests
  • Spain10 requests
Source: European Commission, DG SANTE, Member State data on cross-border patient healthcare following Directive 2011/24/EU, reference year 2023, 2025. [1]

Share of EU health spending paid out of pocket by households, 2023

In 2023, households paid 14.92% of current healthcare expenditure in the EU out of pocket (provisional), against 23.7% in Italy, 20.86% in Spain, 11.32% in Germany and 10.21% in France.

  • Italy23.7%
  • Spain20.86%
  • EU14.92%
  • Germany11.32%
  • France10.21%
Source: Eurostat, Health care expenditure by financing scheme (dataset hlth_sha11_hf, updated 17 August 2026). [2]

EUR 101 million

In 2023, 24 reporting countries reimbursed EUR 101,246,456 for cross-border healthcare not subject to prior authorization, according to European Commission data. [1]

5%

By June 2023, 5% of US consumers with a credit record had a medical collection on it, down from around 14% in March 2022, per the CFPB. [3]

Rules that shape collection in healthcare

Article 9

GDPR special-category status of health data

The EU GDPR prohibits processing data concerning health unless an Article 9(2) exception applies. A bill that reveals the care received can count as health data. [4]

Art. 9(2)(f)

GDPR exception for establishing or defending legal claims

GDPR Article 9(2)(f) allows processing of health data where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. [4]

Same fees

EU rule on fees charged to patients from other Member States

Under Directive 2011/24/EU, EU healthcare providers must charge patients from other Member States the same scale of fees as comparable domestic patients. [5]

Home-level cap

Reimbursement of cross-border care capped at home-country cost

The patient's home Member State reimburses cross-border care only up to what the same care would have cost at home, so patients may carry the difference. [5]

$500

US credit bureaus' threshold for reporting unpaid medical collections

Since 2023 the three US nationwide credit bureaus no longer report unpaid medical collections under $500, and paid ones are removed, per the CFPB. [3]

120 days

US nonprofit hospitals' wait before extraordinary collection actions

US tax-exempt hospitals must wait at least 120 days after the first post-discharge bill before extraordinary collection actions such as credit reporting or lawsuits. [6]

Third-party figures and legal rules, checked on the source on 17 October 2026. They describe the industry, not Debitura's results. Rules change and depend on the contract and the debtor's country, so this is not legal advice.

Sources (6)
  1. European Commission, DG SANTE, Member State data on cross-border patient healthcare following Directive 2011/24/EU, reference year 2023 (2025). health.ec.europa.eu/document/download/1d8edb6b-8149-4a96-862d-3c06b36efb19_en?fi
  2. Eurostat, Health care expenditure by financing scheme (dataset hlth_sha11_hf, updated 17 August 2026) (2026). ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_sha11_hf/default/table
  3. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Recent Changes in Medical Collections on Consumer Credit Records (Data Point, March 2024) (2024). files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_recent-changes-medical-collections-on
  4. Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex), Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) (2016). eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679
  5. Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex), Directive 2011/24/EU on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare (2011). eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011L0024
  6. Internal Revenue Service, Billing and collections: Section 501(r)(6) (2026). www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/billing-and-collections-section-501r6
FAQ

Debt collection for healthcare providers

A Debitura é uma empresa de cobrança de dívidas?

No. Debitura is a debt collection platform. We match your case to a licensed local collection agency or law firm in your debtor's country, which does the collection under local law. We provide the agreement, the platform and the quality checks.

Do I have to pay anything upfront?

No. There is no setup fee, subscription or retainer. You pay a success fee only on money that is recovered. Legal action is quoted separately and only starts if you accept the quote.

Do you need the patient's medical records?

No. A claim needs the invoice, what the patient agreed to pay and how to reach them. Leave out medical details the claim does not need.

Do you collect from consumers?

Yes. Most claims from international patients are against consumers, and partners work them under the consumer rules in the debtor's country.

What if the patient disputes the bill?

Disputed claims get a quote from the partner first, so you can decide with the numbers in front of you.

Is it worth it for smaller bills?

You see the fee and the minimum claim for each market before you submit, so you can decide claim by claim.

What does it cost?

From 6% in Europe and 7.5% elsewhere, depending on claim size and the debtor's country. See the full fee schedule.

Recover what your international patients left unpaid

Create a free account and submit your first claim in two minutes. You see the fee and the partner before anything starts.