NEW YORK, May 19: The hospitals in Boston (Massachusetts) area are feeling the economic pain as the patients from Saudi Arabia and other gulf states have stopped seeking treatment in the city’s famous medical institutions.

A report in Wednesday’s Boston Globe says that Saudi Arabia has shut down a decade-old programme that brought patients to the United States for medical treatment and paid for their care, a move that could translate into millions in lost annual income for Boston-area hospitals.

Saudi diplomats told the newspaper that the growing US delays in granting visas to Saudi citizens because of stricter rules imposed on visitors from the Middle East after the September 11 attacks were a major factor in the decision to halt the programme in recent weeks.

It was funded by a Saudi prince’s charity.

A spokesman for Boston city council was quoted by Boston Globe as saying that instead of coming to the United States for treatment, many Saudis are travelling to Germany, Britain and India for care.