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The owner of Union Health Insurance Company, Achmea company, declined comments of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Ministry of Finance that the judgment of the International Court of Arbitration is not legally binding. Achmea insists that the verdict is legally binding and enforceable and Slovakia cannot appeal against it. Spokesman of Dutch company Bert Rensen although informed that it is not certain that Slovakia may or may not appeal the decision, but after reviewing the decision, the company today confirmed that it is final and binding for Slovakia.  

The decision of the arbitral tribunal in a dispute between shareholders of Union Health Insurance Company and the Slovakia in case of ban of profit of health insurance companies will not deter the Slovak government to introduce a Unitary Health Insurance System. As confirmed by Prime Minister Robert Fico, a decision contrary strengthened the intention to create a one health insurance company. International arbitral tribunal arbitrated that the state must pay to private company € 22 million as compensation, which should has arisen due to the so-called ban of profits for health insurance companies. Slovakia should also pay court costs and fees associated with the arbitration in total amount € 3 million. 

Defeat of Slovakia in arbitration court may also affect the other lawsuits in Slovakia. The shareholders of Health Insurance Company Dôvera and extinct European Health Insurance Company also claim damages from Slovakia. Slovakia has lost the international arbitration over Achmea company - the shareholder of Health Insurance Company Union. The reason of defeat was the act of Fico's first government, which restrict to pay profits to shareholders of health insurance companies. According to arbitration, economic damage of Achmea caused by this Act was € 22 million.

The head of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Pavol Paška (Smer) despite the negative judgment believes that SMER acted correctly in the case of banning the profit of health insurance companies and the same decision he would support today also. According to him, the government will do everything necessary so as to Slovakia would not have to pay compensation in amount € 25 million to shareholders of Union health insurance company due to decision of the International Arbitration Tribunal. As Paška justified, the ban lasted about three years and saved at least 200, maybe 250 million to Slovak health care, so money have not been chosen by shareholders, but stayed in the healthcare.

Slovakia lost the international arbitration over shareholder of Union health insurance company - Achmea.  Due to ban of profit, which was adopted by Smer during its first government, Slovakia must to pay € 22 million to Dutch company Achmea. Achmea, however, would probably did not pay any profit, because it reported only combined losses until last year. Last year, for the first time reported a profit of nine million euros. Robert Fico qualified the decision as not legally binding and added that no one will pay anything. Minister of Finance Peter Kažimír said that the decision is unenforceable.

Dutch company Achmea that owns Union health insurance company won a lawsuit with the Slovakia. The verdict was announced by an international arbitral tribunal on Friday. It is not clear whether Slovakia will be able to appeal. Slovakia according to verdict, in 2006 and 2007 violated an investment agreement with the Netherlands. The first government of Robert Fico (Smer) banned private insurance companies to pay a profit. Constitutional Court decided that this step was unconstitutional already last year. State must pay € 22 million for compensation for the damages and € 3 million as court costs. Owners of the Union originally asked for € 64.7 million.

Striking doctors in Hospital in Žilina still did not come to an agreement with the management of Hospital. According to spokeswoman of Ministry of Health Zuzana Čižmáriková, the hospital still can provide emergency services during following days.
Ministry of Health Zuzana Zvolenská came to the hospital immediately after her arrive from Brussels to stop all elective surgeries.

After two years old promise of former Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik (KDH) about better monitoring of decubitis in hospitals, only present Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská came with the Government ordinance these days. According to daily SME, the improvement is minimal; whereas the new government ordinance only amplifies the scale of decubitis ranking and the key parameter which accounts their occurrence did not change. On the present, there are some hospitals which do not report any decubitis during all year to the health insurances companies. The better reporting should be guaranteed by new legal standards of the Ministry, which it is allegedly already working on.

The doctors working at Department of Traumatology in Hospital in Žilina who refused to do evening services on Monday, were from Wednesday replaced by military doctors. This information was given by the Minister of Health Zuzna Zvolenska and Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. Available should be two traumatologist, two general surgeons and four orthopaedists. Altogether 29 certified doctors of free medical unit, who have been helping in the hospitals during last year strike of doctors, should be available. 

To suppliers of medical devices owes the most Private Clinics. The liability after maturity date increased on € 22.7 million whereby the state facilities owe € 6.1 million. The hospitals in Bratislava, Trnava and Banská Bystrica have the highest liability. According to spokeswoman of Hospital in Banská Bystrica Ružena Maťašeje, the increase of debt is caused by imbalance between incomes and outcomes of the hospital. As she mentioned, increasing of costs of salaries and operating costs of hospital also causes indebtedness. This Hospital owes to suppliers of medical devices € 3.3 million.