HPI

Together 16 universities, teaching hospitals and several institutes whose directors are appointed by the Ministry of Health cancel the contract with Union health insurance company. According to Union, cancellation from them came in late June at a same time. With three of them agreed new contracts later. Contracts with 13 facilities are still valid, but expire 30 September. This is the last day, when people can exchange health insurance company. Union argues that the large hospital get together against it. Therefore wants to turn at the Antimonopoly Office. Office should investigate if hospitals are not abusing market position. The insurance company is according to law compulsory to conclude the contract with state hospitals and institutions. They are part of a terminal network, so insurance companies have to conclude contracts with them.

The Ministry of Health published the results of a public procurement for licenses to operate 76 ambulances land emergency medical services. As can be seen from the results, most of the licenses reallocated among themselves LSE-Life Star Emergency, Falck Záchranná, Záchranná a dopravná zdravotnícka služba Bratislava and Záchranná služba Košice. Licenses should be valid for six years instead of the currently four. According to amended law on health care providers, with the application for permission providers has obligation to submit also the proof of human resources of emergency vehicles and project of strategy and development of emergency services. Slovakia currently operates 273 outpatient land emergency medical services and seven airs.

Health insurance companies submitted for the first half of this year nearly 140-thousand proposals to conduct enforcement on premium payers. At the end of June, they managed to recover 64.8 million euros together. The General Health Insurance Company (VšZP) registered at the end of June this year 314.675 defaulters who unpaid the premiums of over two hundred million euros. Compared to the same period last year, the number of defaulters fell by 13 per cent. In the health insurance Dôvera is the list of debtors for the first half of 2013 nearly 60-thousand clients. Unpaid premiums reached 15.3 million.

The biggest public health facilities also face executions of nearly 600 thousand euros.

Health care facilities owed ​​the end of July the insurance Social Insurance over 70 million. Since last year their assets increased by € 21.3 million. Claims on state medical facilities have reached the end of July € 43.02 mil. Per month assets increased by more than 4.4 million euros.

Health insurance companies ended last year with a profit of 90 million euros. Compared to the same period in 2011 its profits increased by 36 million euros. This result from the report from Healthcare Surveillance Authority submitted to the Government. The largest profit reported insurance company Dôvera - 47.86 million euros. State General Health Insurance Company has been in the black € 26.340.000 and Union insurance company € 15.980.000. Total income of insurance companies amounted to 3.85 billion euros, which, compared to 2011 is increased by 239 million euros. Expenditure of insurance companies also increased. Compared with last year it was by 34 million. The highest share of all costs were costs on health care, nearly 91 per cent.  

One health insurance company should in Slovakia arise later as originally planned Robert Fico. According to forthcoming transformation act, insurance companies will be merged into one in January 2015. The previous statements of the Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenska showed that the main terms would not delay. According to spokeswomen of ministry, specific dates will ministry published in interdepartmental comment procedure. Transformation Act, which would have been payable from May, was not officially presented. Similarly, the tender for consultant has not begun. It should to come to an end in April.

Hospital physicians’ salaries will absolutely rise. President Ivan Gasparovič signed an amendment to the Health Insurance Act. According to it, a doctor with specialization will from January 2013 earn 2.3 times the average wage, doctor without specialization about 1.25 times the average wage. Overall, increasing will cost more than 30 million per year. Hospital, however, do not have needed sources and most of them are in indebted. Ministry of Health rejects additional subsidization. The same amendment also introduces a new product in the reimbursement of health care abroad - patients no longer need approval from their insurance company before planned outpatient procedure.

The European Commission has ordered Slovakia to verify the payment of over 2.8 million, which were intended for healthcare. Failure to do so will lose money. The reason is probably misconducts in public procurement. The April audit on Operational Programme Health was focused just on the competition. The Ministry of Health will now have to refute the doubts of Brussels within six months. The resort of Zuzana Zvolenska did not specify what errors Brussels revealed. Healthcare is not the only area that faces the negative decision of Brussels. At the beginning of the year were also suspended funding of projects under the Operational Programme Transport. The reason should be the fundamental error of the Ministry of Transport under the leadership of Jan Figel.

The Ministry of Health has been delayed three quarters of the year with the adoption of legislation, which is a condition to implement the new payment mechanism for hospitals, the so-called DRG (Diagnoses Related Groups) system. Originally, the ministry should have approved a decree which provides a list of medical procedures necessary for the further progress of the project in October last year. The term could not be observed, because the list of performances has not been finished. In February, the Healthcare Surveillance Authority, which covers the process of introducing DRG, announced that the list is ready. However, the Ministry has not approved the decree till today. According to Authority, the decree is prepared and its estimated force was established on October this year.

Two-thirds of competitions that make Slovak hospitals are with only one candidate. In the Czech Republic there are more. While in tenders in our hospitals are on average two bidders, in the Czech Republic are three. In public procurement for medical supplies have Slovak hospitals an average of 1.4 candidates, while Czech hospitals have up to 4.2 candidates. Slovakia on comparison with the Czech is also worse in comparing the top ten procurers. Just in one hospital was the average number of bids in the tender more than two. In contrast, in the ten largest hospital procurers in Czech Republic have on averages per one procurement more than two offers.

By 11 July 2012 Constitutional Court suspended the effect of law, which has brought nurses and midwives higher wages since April last year. Almost a year after, in July 2013, the Plenum of the Constitutional Court decided that the law on minimum wage claims of nurses and midwives is not in accordance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Prosecution, inter alia do not like that law positively discriminates nurses in comparison with other health care professionals. General Prosecutor's Office reacted by this step to the initiative of the Slovak Medical Chamber. Activity of doctors, who have challenged the law on raising salaries of nurses and midwives, can turn against them. President of the Association of Hospitals Marian Petko in response to this verdict acknowledged that the same stimulus after this precedent can be given to higher wages of doctors.