HPI

Besides Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company) and Dôvera also Union health insurance company is planning to forward its old claims to Slovenská konsolidačná (debt consolidation company). Under the agreement between ministries and insurance companies the insurance company Union may forward the claims in the maximum amount of € 10 million and will get 22% of their value. According to its spokeswoman Union soon plans to forward some claims from years 2007 – 2008.

Minister of Health wants the have a clear overview about how many pharmaceuticals are spend in the healthcare and how much they cost. Project Register of Consumption worth € 1.24 million was, however, implemented only in some state-owned hospitals. Minister reportedly chose only those hospitals, where at least one of the hospital systems comes from the company Stapro, which developed also the new system. Hospitals reportedly received instructions from the Ministry about whose system should be used in project.

After the Association of Suppliers of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices also the Slovak Association of Pharmaceutical Companies oriented to the Research and Development is asking for enforcement of control mechanism on pharmaceutical export from Slovakia. The reason of increased consumption of pharmaceuticals is reportedly their re-export to foreign countries.

Hospitals with policyholders mainly from private insurance companies do not know how to get money for higher salaries of doctors. Private insurance companies, unlike the Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa, did not increase the resources. The Association of Slovak Hospitals repeatedly asked the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance to release € 50 million from the reserve in the state budget. The Association will ask for opening of this year's state budget for additional financing.

In recent months several hospitals increased the fees, or introduced new ones. Women in childbed will pay the most for the hospital services, in some cases it could be even several hundreds of euros. For example University hospital in Bratislava, according to the new pricelist, increased the fee not only for selection of the obstetrician, but also for the father's presence at the birth. According to the spokeswoman of hospital the revaluation is based on the market research of other providers.

Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives appealed on the nursing sisters in nursing homes, in the case if their employers do not increase their wages from April, to stop providing the nursing care. Chamber is concerned that employer can do so, because these nursing sisters according to the law definition do not provide the health care, but only ensure it. Chamber also advises these sisters to start only ensuring the health care. It means that they would only call the doctor or emergency service, or send the client of the nursing home to hospital. 

Hospitals associated in the Association of Hospitals in Slovakia claim that salaries of doctors and nurses wlll take up to 80% of total revenues. According to the President of the Association Marián Petko, if the Government does not increase the resources, since May hospitals will not be able to provide the health care and in June they will collapse. He also warned that if the wages of other healthcare professionals increase, hospitals will have to use all the money from health insurance companies only for salaries.

General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa - VšZP) is planning to forward to Slovenská konsolidačná (debt consolidation agency) the old claims from premium in total amount of € 176 million until the end of this year. VšZP forwarded to Slovenská konsolidačná in the first step the claims in amount of € 7.2 million and will get € 1.08 million. As resulted from the agreement between Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and health insurance companies, if interested, VšZP can forward to Slovenská konsolidačná the old claims up to € 176 million and will get 15% of their value.

Twenty German hospitals will come to introduce themselves to Slovak doctors on the Job Days of Medicine and Health Slovakia fair, which will take place in Bratislava in March 2012. Hospitals want to offer Slovak doctors, nurses and other health professionals the total of 450 work positions. Slovak doctors, who already work in Germany, will also participate on the job fair and will answer the questions of participants. 

Directors of nursing homes in Slovakia are shifting the nurses to the position of nursing sister. According to the Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives they are this way trying to avoid the obligation to increase their wages. Nurses are reportedly forced to sign the reclassification under the threat of dismissals. From April the law on minimum wages of nurses will enter into force, which guarantees them a better salary. Nurses, however, reportedly even may not work in the nursing homes, as the Minister of Labour referred to them, because they are not nurses and they should suspend their registration in the Chamber.