HPI

Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská is disappointed from the attitude of deans of medical faculties in relation to solving of situation which have arisen after termination of contracts between university hospitals and faculties. Zvolenská does not understand why representatives of medical faculties do not agree with submitted final proposals of contracts, which were discussed at the highest level. Comments of contractual parties were according to her incorporated into the contract on practical training and establishing of specialized education institution of public university. 

State does not have money for third increasing of salaries of doctors, on which the Government has agreed with Medical Trade Union during the last year's strike. According to the spokeswoman of Ministry, Zuzana Čižmáriková, in case of announced increasing of basic salaries of doctors would be endangered the providing of health care. Ministry of Health Zuzana Zvolenská claims that currently doctors earn above-average. State would, according to her, need € 37 million for next increasing of salaries.

Union Health Insurance Company is currently analysing the project of implementation of unitary system of public health insurance in Slovak republic made by Ministry of Health. Union, however declared that its attitude about maintaining of pluralistic system of health insurance remains unchanged. Union is according to its spokeswoman interested into cooperation with Slovak government on such reform steps, which will lead to the increasing of quality of health care in Slovakia.

Ministry of Health is afraid that Constitutional Court may thwart its effort to create one health insurance company. Ministry is therefore seeking for possibilities how to implement the new system before this really happen. The best possibility in this sense seems to be the so-called simultaneous merging into General Health Insurance Company. Unification of health insurance companies should be implemented on the basis of Act of transformation. General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa) should thus become the legal successor of all health insurance companies. 

Whether doctors will get their salaries increased next year is still uncertain. Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská keep negotiating with medical trade unions on the gradually payment of higher salaries. Head of Medical Trade Union Peter Visolajský believes that Government will be responsible and will keep its promises. With regard to the phases of third stage of increasing of salaries, trade unionists are, according to Visolajský, waiting for the offer. Spokeswoman of Ministry of Health Zuzana Čižmáriková promises that Medical Trade Union will get the proposals before next negotiation on salaries.

Students from Medical Faculty of P. J. Šafárik University in Košice have declared the strike emergency in accordance to the dispute with the L. Pasteur University hospital, which is related to the termination of the agreement on establishing of education basis. They have announced that in case of absence of mutual agreement they are ready to demonstrate publicly. Students are expressing their concerns about the future that they will not be able to practice, faculty will lose the accreditation and they will have to leave the University. 

Self-governmental regions criticize the intention according to which 37 state healthcare institutions should have guaranteed contracts with health insurance companies. This chosen group thus will be sure to get contracts from insurance companies and therefore also a guaranteed incomes. Regions are asking for involving of their regional hospitals into the terminal network of hospitals. Trenčín region has already submitted this requirement in the frame of commenting proceeding. Ministry of Health, however, did not accept it.  

Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company) promised the healthcare institutions to cover all the operations of its policyholders wainting on the waiting list over the frame of contracted financial volume by the end of this year. Health insurance company Union considers that as unrealistic. Spokeswoman of Union claims, that according to recent statements of state insurance company a high number of its policyholders on waiting lists is directly related to the capacity possibilities of healthcare providers and not with the lack of financial resources. 

Health insurance company Dôvera wants to clarify the many-months waiting for some complicated medical procedures. It has launched the internet application www.dovera.sk/cakacie-listiny, where patients may find out how long it is needed to wait for example for total knee or hip replacement, intraocular lens implantation or the reconstructive surgery on the peripheral arteries. Medical procedures can be sorted by hospitals and it is possible to see how long it is necessary to wait for them in average or how many patients are registered in the waiting list. 

Decreasing of pricing quotations for emergency ambulances caused financial problems to some providers. Decreasing of incomes caused decreasing of employees’ wages. An example is the Emergency medical service Bratislava, where in the first half of this year the personal bonuses were decreased. Decreasing of payments, according to the President of the Association of Emergency Medical Service, Ján Štes, affected all emergency providers. Their incomes have decreased in February due to the change of Decree enforced by former Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik.