Payment of health user charges for children in Portugal

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The Portuguese Government recently approved the extension of the exemption of payment of health user charges to all children, i.e. up to the age of 18. This extension, effective since June 2015, is expected to reach approximately half a million children aged 13 to 17. It supposedly will facilitate the access of children to healthcare, thereby lowering health costs for households with children.

Authors: Pedro Perista and Isabel Baptista