The Ministry of Public Health announced services at public hospitals will be free. The hospitals had been charging a “recovery fee.” The fees were from RD$40 for lab services to RD$8,000 for minor surgeries. The funds were used to complement wages of medical staff. Minister of Public Health said the government would make available RD$600 million to the public hospitals to compensate for the funds. The measure will benefit an estimated 1.1 million patients that use the medical services at 168 public hospitals.