The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Torrevieja Salud against a ruling that upheld the decision by the Valencian Government to refuse an extension of the healthcare concession for the Torrevieja Health Department and Hospital, confirming the legality of bringing the service back under direct public management.
The ruling confirms that the regional administration acted entirely within the law when it formally notified the concessionaire of its decision not to renew the contract one year prior to its expiration, whilst simultaneously establishing the necessary regulations to assume control of the hospital, its equipment, infrastructure, and workforce.
Five years of legal disputes
This judgment by Spain’s highest court settles a central pillar of the extensive legal battles initiated by the healthcare company almost five years after the regional government brought the department back under direct public control. Torrevieja Salud, owned by a French insurance group and featuring no remaining trace of its former main executives since 2025, had launched multiple proceedings to halt the reversal of what was once considered the jewel in the crown of its healthcare operations across the Valencian Community.
Delivered earlier this month, the judgment was issued by the Fourth Section of the Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Luis María Díez-Picazo Giménez, with Judge Antonio Narváez Rodríguez acting as rapporteur. The decision dismisses Torrevieja Salud’s appeal and upholds the previous judgment handed down by the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community in November 2022.
Contractual deadlines and economic assessments
The core argument put forward by the regional administration focused on the terms of the original contract signed in 2003. The contract established an initial term of fifteen years starting from the official opening of the hospital on 16 October 2006, setting the expiry date as 15 October 2021. A further five-year extension was contingent upon mutual agreement between both parties. Because no such agreement was reached, the regional government maintained that it was under no obligation to continue the concession model.
The Supreme Court fully accepted this line of reasoning, noting that the return to public management was explicitly provided for in the contract. Furthermore, the administration was obligated to outline the operational procedures for taking over facilities and guaranteeing service continuity a year before the contract ended. The Regional Ministry of Health fulfilled this requirement on 14 October 2020 by issuing official instructions for the transfer and confirming that the concession would not be renewed.
A second major point of contention concerned the timing of the required economic assessment. Torrevieja Salud argued that the administration was legally required to complete a comprehensive financial feasibility study evaluating the impact on public finances before issuing the non-renewal notification. The regional government countered that while an economic assessment was necessary, it simply had to be completed prior to the actual end of the contract rather than before giving notice.
The court ruled in favour of the regional government, determining that financial assessments must be carried out before contract expiration but do not need to precede the initial notification. Judges deemed it sufficient that economic and budgetary reports were finalised before the final concession end date of 15th October 2021.
Additionally, the court rejected claims that these economic evaluations had to be set out in a single specific report or within the initial administrative file. The Supreme Court confirmed that such details can be incorporated into regional budget legislation, provided there is adequate justification regarding financial sustainability and budgetary stability. In the case of Torrevieja, the court highlighted that the government successfully demonstrated sufficient funding to cover direct management costs through budgetary provisions and subsequent supporting reports submitted before the contract expired.
Arguments under budgetary legislation
Torrevieja Salud had based its appeal on the terms of the Organic Law on Budgetary Stability and Financial Sustainability, which dictates that any public action affecting current or future revenue and expenditure must undergo a prior economic assessment to ensure compliance with financial balance principles.
The concessionaire maintained that the government could not announce the end of the concession or prepare the transition to direct public control without first evaluating whether the move was financially manageable and within public spending limits. However, the Supreme Court confirmed that the regional government did indeed perform all necessary economic evaluations within the required timeframe.
Ongoing litigation and regional impact
This decision forms part of broader ongoing litigation surrounding healthcare concessions across the region and disputes over using temporary personnel to cover positions previously held by permanent staff. This practice became a hallmark of the public-private partnership healthcare model introduced in the late 1990s. While the regional government has systematically taken back control of concessions in Alzira (2018), Torrevieja (2021), Denia (2024), and Manises (2024), the multinational parent company behind Ribera Salud continues to pursue claims for additional payments across several financial years in Torrevieja. Meanwhile, the group retains control of the concession for the Vinalopó University Hospital in Elche.
Under the original concession agreement, Ribera received annual per capita funding amounting to approximately 130 million euro based on the registered population of the health district. Although the government increased these allocations over time, the sums fell short of the amounts demanded by Ribera, leaving several financial years subject to ongoing legal challenges.
Following the return to public control, the workforce across the Torrevieja Health Department—which serves residents in Torrevieja, the coastal area of Orihuela, Pilar de la Horadada, Rojales, Guardamar, San Fulgencio, San Miguel de Salinas, Los Montesinos, Benijófar, and Formentera del Segura—has more than doubled to exceed 2,050 public employees, backed by an annual operating budget of more than 235 million euro.
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