In 2025, Madrid authorities made an unexpected decision: the official report from the regional health service no longer includes information about the number of patients treated at private medical institutions. Previously, these figures made it possible to assess how actively the government was funding private clinics, especially the major Quirónsalud network. Now, such statistics are unavailable, sparking a strong reaction among politicians and the public.
According to representatives of the regional health department, the data are promised to be published on the website, but no timetable has been specified. In previous years, these figures were released annually in reports, showing a steady increase in the number of patients choosing private hospitals through the free choice system, introduced back in 2010. The opposition has long criticized this mechanism, viewing it as a tool to undermine the public healthcare system and boost the profits of private corporations.
Increase in patient numbers and financial issues
What drew particular attention was that the disappearance of the statistics coincided with rising public interest in Quirónsalud’s operations. In recent months, there has been talk of ties between the region’s leadership and the company, as well as investigations into possible corruption schemes. Authorities cite technical reasons for the missing data and promise to publish everything later, once all the figures are ready. However, the opposition insists this is an attempt to conceal inconvenient information.
Previously, reports clearly showed in tables how the number of patients treated outside their home zone had multiplied over the past decade. For example, in 2013, one of Madrid’s largest private clinics — Fundación Jiménez Díaz — received just over 16,000 such patients, but by 2023 the number exceeded 84,000. A similar trend was seen in other private hospitals, which highlighted a redistribution of budget funds.
Criticism and demands for transparency
The system, in which each hospital receives funding for treating patients from other districts, encourages private clinics to broaden their services and reduce waiting times. As a result, waiting periods at these institutions are much shorter than in most of the region’s public hospitals. However, according to the opposition, this does not solve the overall waiting list problem, which has grown by more than 60% since the current administration took office.
Left-wing MPs stress that the lack of transparency in payments to private clinics such as Quirónsalud and Ribera Salud makes it difficult to monitor spending. Over six years of the current government, Madrid has acknowledged paying these companies more than five billion euros. Now, as key data has vanished from public records, critics are demanding transparency be immediately restored and all information about the funding of private medical institutions made public.
